On May 15, FairPoint Communications announced it will lay off 219 employees in northern New England. The layoffs come just three months after the communications company and union members reached a contract agreement that ended an 18-week strike.
In a statement, the company said it will cut approximately 260 jobs in 17 states, including closing a call center in Burlington, Vt. FairPoint CEO Paul H. Sunu said the layoffs are the result of declining land line customers. “Access lines and legacy revenues are in … decline, and we are taking these steps to ensure our administrative and operational structures remain aligned with the current size and composition of our business,” he said.
Union leaders criticized the layoffs and said they plan to meet with company officials to discuss the layoff process.
“This announcement is deeply disappointing and illustrates yet again that FairPoint executives are beholden to the greedy Wall Street hedge funds who own the company, not to our customers,” said Don Trementozzi, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1400, which represents some 300 FairPoint employees in three states. — Larry Clow