More possible jobs cuts look likely:

BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The specter of a new Ma Bell-styled telephone monopoly could put Michigan jobs at risk now that AT&T Inc. has announced it will cut as many as 10,000 positions across the country if it buys BellSouth Corp.

The proposed $67-billion deal that was reported Sunday to combine two of the nation’s largest telecommunications companies is expected to close in about 12 months, pending federal and state regulatory approval. In a Monday teleconference, AT&T executives told analysts that 10,000 jobs likely would be slashed between 2007 and 2009.

San Antonio-based AT&T, formerly SBC Communications Inc., has 189,850 employees across the country, including 13,000 Michigan workers. Robert Nelson, a former commissioner with the Michigan Public Service Commission, said Monday the acquisition will result in the loss of Michigan jobs if the AT&T-BellSouth deal closes as expected in early 2007. He didn’t speculate on how many Michigan jobs might be lost, but he said mid-level employees would be the most vulnerable in a deal of this size.

“I’m afraid Michigan will be affected,” said Nelson, a lobbyist for the Customer Choice Coalition, a Lansing firm that promotes more competition in Michigan’s regulated industries. “I think part of that 10,000 will come out of Michigan, because of the way (AT&T) will realign. They will consolidate their middle managers at BellSouth and a lot of the managers in Michigan won’t be needed, in my view. In terms of managerial presence, that’s where Michigan will be affected most.”

Officials at AT&T said it is too early to discuss where cuts might take place.

“It’s just too early to be talking geography for these impending cuts, assuming that the merger goes through,” said Laura Seelbach, a spokeswoman for AT&T. “Our goal will be to manage the need for these reductions as much as possible through normal attrition, which runs about 1,200 jobs per month for our company.”

FULL REPORT HERE