45 more layoffs announced at AT&T

Hamden, Conn. (WTNH) - AT&T has announced it plans to layoff 45 unionized engineers and technicians.

AT&T says that the cuts are in response to the deterioration of wire-line phones.

Spokesperson Marty Richter explained, "We are eliminating some positions due to reduced workload in our shrinking wire-line business. The affected employees have a job offer guarantee that promises a job offer in another part of the business within Connecticut, so they have an opportunity to stay on the payroll."

However, Communications Workers of America (CWA) local President Bill Henderson is not happy.

"It is just disgusting," Henderson said.

Henderson said the layoffs will, "continue to deteriorate the already obscenely low 'service levels' in our state."

AT&T maintains that these positions are not involved with restoring service to customers in the event of an outage. "The ratio of repair technicians to wired access lines has remained relatively consistent for more than a decade," Richter said.

"AT&T must have used a dart board to determine the employees that were going to be laid off because the people slotted for layoff are vital to customer service in Connecticut," Henderson responded.

In the last 6 months, AT&T hired 200 U-verse technicians and retail employees, and they are looking to hire 50 more, Richter said.

AT&T expects a significant number of these cuts will be met by employees who volunteer for enhanced severance packages.

In December, AT&T announced that 100 operators would be losing their jobs . However, no one lost their job just before Christmas because other employees volunteered to take enhanced severance packages.

Henderson says the union is gearing for unprecedented membership mobilizations in preparation for the upcoming contract negotiations.

More than 4,000 CWA members are employed by AT&T and other communications companies in the state.

Their contract expires in April.