SBC Communications Inc. said it plans to cut 12,800 jobs following its pending $16 billion acquisition of AT&T Corp.
The job cuts are expected to include 5,125 jobs as part of “network efficiencies,” 1,700 cuts from the combined sales department, 3,400 job cuts from business operations, and 2,600 job cuts from other periphery operations. SBC said the acquisition would generate a new present value of more than $15 billion in synergies, including at least $2 billion in savings per year beginning in 2008.
SBC currently employs 163,000 people, while AT&T claims 47,000 employees, though each company is expected to cut jobs prior to the acquisition’s closing next year.
Despite the proposed job cuts, SBC’s pending acquisition of AT&T garnered support from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents more than 12,500 workers at SBC and 900 employees at AT&T.
“The IBEW is encouraged by the purchase of AT&T by SBC,” the organization said in a statement. “We have long maintained that our primary goal for the modern telecommunications industry is the promotion of growth and job opportunities that benefit workers, companies, consumers and communities alike. The joining of forces by two major players in the industry could be a major step toward this goal.”
The IBEW reached a five-year labor agreement with SBC last summer affecting more than 11,300 employees in Illinois and Indiana.
