Verizon to slash 13,000 jobs

New York, Jan 27: Verizon Communications, Inc. has announced that it would slash about 13,000 jobs in 2010, at the backdrop of a fourth-quarter loss.

A net loss of $653 million, or 23 cents per share was recorded by the company in fourth quarter of 2010, against a profit of $1.24 billion, or 43 cents per share in 2009.

Verizon suffered the loss after a charge of $3 billion was taken by the company for 17,000 jobs cuts in 2009, in both landline and wireless divisions.

The earnings forecast by the analyst polled by Thomson Reuters was 54 cents per share.

Though the company's total sales increased from $24.6 billion in fourth quarter in 2009 to $27.1 billion in 2010, its was below analyst estimates of $27.3 billion.

Talking about the lay-offs, Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that in the wake of the company's quaterly earnings, it has decided to layoff 13,000 positions in 2010.

The company has cut 13,000 jobs from its landline business in 2008 and another 13,000 again in 2009.

Bob Varettoni, a Verizon spokesman said that the job cuts will not pertain to any geographic area.

"We have reduced headcount in many ways: by reducing the number of contractors we use, by offering enhanced incentive separation packages, attrition, and other means. Any layoffs were kept to a minimum because of these measures," he said.

Meanwhile, Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) has also said that it was planning to cut jobs.

In a memo to Home Depot employees, CEO Frank Blake informed the companies decision to slashed 1,000 jobs nationwide.

"We are a strong company, and we are taking the necessary actions to make us even stronger as our business builds momentum," said Blake.

The total headcount of Verizon at the end 2010 is nearly 223,000, with 117,000 employees in the fixed-line business.

OneIndia News