AT&T to cut 4,600 jobs

AT&T Inc. on Friday said it plans to eliminate about 4,600 jobs, or less than 2 percent of its work force, to operate more efficiently.

The San Antonio-based telecommunications company in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing said it plans to take a $374 million first-quarter pretax charge against earnings related to the job cuts. Most reductions are being made at the management level, and the company said overall employment will remain steady in 2008 as it adds workers in "growth areas."

AT&T (NYSE:T) said the job reductions are the next step in streamlining the company's operations, particularly in non-customer-service positions such as telecom and corporate staff groups.

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AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp said the company is not releasing a breakdown of the job cuts geographically and affected employees are being notified.

Sharp said the company expects its employee base to remain fairly stable as it has more than 300,000 employees across the country, including 24,000 in Georgia, and added 7,000 positions in 2007.

He said the company is still hiring in growth positions such as wireless and Uverse, AT&T's TV product.

AT&T in 2007 recorded $12 billion in profit on operating revenue of $118.9 billion.

AT&T's wireless business unit is headquartered in Atlanta, with offices across the country, but the job cuts will not affect that segment of the business, Sharp said.