By Amy Thomson
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, will cut more jobs as it grapples with a shrinking home-phone business and a sluggish economy, Chief Financial Officer John Killian said.
The cuts, which will take place in the next few years, are in addition to 8,000 employee and contractor cuts the company had announced for the second half of 2009, Killian said today in an investor conference in Marina del Rey, California.
Verizon isn’t planning for an economic improvement this year, and sales and profit margins will remain under pressure, Killian said. Margins will hit a low point this quarter, he said. Declining sales to businesses contributed to a 21 percent drop in second-quarter profit as enterprises reduced workers and cut phone usage.
Verizon, based in New York, is also combating the slump by focusing on its wireless business and the FiOS Internet and TV service.
As FiOS expands, the company plans to add 1 million customers a year, Killian said. The wireless unit should keep adding 1 million mobile subscribers a quarter, he said. Verizon is also expanding into faster “fourth-generation” wireless broadband, which will be available nationwide by 2013.
Verizon rose 46 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $31.35 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4 p.m. The stock has dropped 7.5 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Amy Thomson in New York at athomson6@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 10, 2009 16:07 EDT
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