EarthLink cutting another 1,300 jobs
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ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- EarthLink is cutting another 1,300 jobs, or 40 percent of its workforce, as part of a major restructuring that started a year ago.
The nation's third-largest Internet service provider said Tuesday it will close its call centers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Roseville, California, San Jose, California, and Pasadena, California, and reduce its call center operations in Atlanta by the end of the first quarter of 2004.
About 1,300 of the Atlanta-based company's 3,300 employees will lose their jobs, spokesman Dan Greenfield said.
The cuts are on top of 1,300 jobs EarthLink shed in January 2003, meaning the company will have reduced its workforce by 60 percent in a year. Attrition also was a part in the reduction.
In both rounds of cuts, EarthLink cited increased competition. EarthLink remains behind America Online and MSN in market share among Internet service providers. It has roughly 5 million paying subscribers, the company said.
"The assumption that we are doing this because business is bad is not a good assumption to make," Greenfield said. "The issue is not because of slower sales. The issue is improving operational efficiencies and trying to become profitable in a highly competitive, dynamic marketplace."
Along with job cuts, more work performed by Earthlink's call centers will be outsourced to other companies. Currently, more than 70 percent of the company's calls are outsourced, many dealing with billing, tech support and sales.
The company would not say how much it expects to save through further outsourcing.
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