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http://www.pennlive.com/business/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/business/11425913133280.xml&coll=1
The state Public Utility Commission is concerned about job losses related to mergers of companies regulated by the commission.
PUC members voted 4-1 yesterday to investigate job cuts by AT&T in the wake of its merger last year with SBC Communications. The vote included a provision to delay approval of Sprint's plan to separate its wireless and traditional telephone operations so the PUC can determine if job cuts are contemplated from that action.
Commissioner Terrance Fitzpatrick dissented in both votes.
Chairman Wendell F. Holland said AT&T, after assuring regulators that the merger with SBC would create "a much stronger job outlook," announced last month that it was cutting 200 jobs at a Pittsburgh call center and 50 at a call center in New Castle, Lawrence County, that handles Telecommunications Relay Service calls for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"This reduction of work force in Pennsylvania is of particular concern because AT&T is the sole provider of TRS in Pennsylvania," he said.
In a TRS call, a deaf person types his message into a laptoplike unit and transmits the message to a special operator. The operator calls the person to whom the message is directed and reads it to them over the phone.
Any return message is sent back in written form to the deaf person.
AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp said the layoffs were unrelated to the merger and were driven by declining call volume. He called TRS an "antiquated technology" that is being supplanted by use of the BlackBerry and other Internet-connected devices. The remaining staff at New Castle can handle all the Pennsylvania TRS call volume and is being given some calls from other states.
As for the Pittsburgh call center, Sharp said, work done there is related to the original AT&T consumer business. The company announced more than a year ago that it is exiting the consumer business in favor of business services. He said employees at the call centers were offered the opportunity to transfer to save their jobs.
Sprint's plan to separate its wireless operations -- think Sprint/Nextel -- from its traditional wire-line operations -- think United Telephone in Carlisle -- had been settled with the PUC staff, the state Office of Consumer Advocate and others.
But Holland said final approval was delayed because of vaguely worded commitments to service quality.
He said he wants to find out what Sprint means when it says it will provide "adequate resources and investment" to maintain "adequate" service quality to customers in Pennsylvania.
PUC Vice Chairman James Cawley said the split appears to offer many benefits for Sprint customers, including speedier broadband deployment. He compared it favorably to the Verizon-MCI merger approved several months ago by the PUC.
Sprint spokesman Russ Gutshall said the company would not comment until it sees the actual PUC order.
Gutshall declined to comment on whether jobs will be eliminated because of the separation.
"I can't say yes, I can't say no," he said.
The state Public Utility Commission is concerned about job losses related to mergers of companies regulated by the commission.
PUC members voted 4-1 yesterday to investigate job cuts by AT&T in the wake of its merger last year with SBC Communications. The vote included a provision to delay approval of Sprint's plan to separate its wireless and traditional telephone operations so the PUC can determine if job cuts are contemplated from that action.
Commissioner Terrance Fitzpatrick dissented in both votes.
Chairman Wendell F. Holland said AT&T, after assuring regulators that the merger with SBC would create "a much stronger job outlook," announced last month that it was cutting 200 jobs at a Pittsburgh call center and 50 at a call center in New Castle, Lawrence County, that handles Telecommunications Relay Service calls for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"This reduction of work force in Pennsylvania is of particular concern because AT&T is the sole provider of TRS in Pennsylvania," he said.
In a TRS call, a deaf person types his message into a laptoplike unit and transmits the message to a special operator. The operator calls the person to whom the message is directed and reads it to them over the phone.
Any return message is sent back in written form to the deaf person.
AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp said the layoffs were unrelated to the merger and were driven by declining call volume. He called TRS an "antiquated technology" that is being supplanted by use of the BlackBerry and other Internet-connected devices. The remaining staff at New Castle can handle all the Pennsylvania TRS call volume and is being given some calls from other states.
As for the Pittsburgh call center, Sharp said, work done there is related to the original AT&T consumer business. The company announced more than a year ago that it is exiting the consumer business in favor of business services. He said employees at the call centers were offered the opportunity to transfer to save their jobs.
Sprint's plan to separate its wireless operations -- think Sprint/Nextel -- from its traditional wire-line operations -- think United Telephone in Carlisle -- had been settled with the PUC staff, the state Office of Consumer Advocate and others.
But Holland said final approval was delayed because of vaguely worded commitments to service quality.
He said he wants to find out what Sprint means when it says it will provide "adequate resources and investment" to maintain "adequate" service quality to customers in Pennsylvania.
PUC Vice Chairman James Cawley said the split appears to offer many benefits for Sprint customers, including speedier broadband deployment. He compared it favorably to the Verizon-MCI merger approved several months ago by the PUC.
Sprint spokesman Russ Gutshall said the company would not comment until it sees the actual PUC order.
Gutshall declined to comment on whether jobs will be eliminated because of the separation.
"I can't say yes, I can't say no," he said.