PHILADELPHIA – Sprint Corp. said Friday it will cut 3,000 customer service jobs and close five call centers at its Sprint PCS Group wireless telephone unit in a move to cut costs amid a slowdown in growth in the U.S. wireless telephone industry.
The cuts represent about 9 percent of Sprint PCS' workforce and affects facilities in Georgia, Florida, Kansas and California, the company said. Sprint PCS will continue to operate eight customer service call centers throughout the country.
Earlier this month, Sprint PCS, the nation's fourth-largest wireless telephone company, posted a narrower fourth-quarter net loss but lowered its forecast for the number of new customers it will add this year.
It expects to add 3 million or more subscribers in 2002, compared with its previous estimate of 3.6 million to 3.7 million new customers.
Sprint PCS and other wireless operators have seen growth slowdown due to the economy and the rising wireless penetration rate in the United States. With about 45 percent of the U.S. population owning cell phones, adding new customers becomes increasingly difficult.
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