Fairpoint Could Cut Additional Jobs After Cutting 400 Jobs in New England Last week we noted how after promising to create jobs with their acquisition of Verizon's New England networks, Fairpoint Communications announced they'd be cutting 400 positions. With the company continuing to bleed traditional phone customers, the Nashua Telegraph reports that the company is potentially planning additional cuts. "By the company’s own estimates, (FairPoint) could release an additional 400 employees, in order to reach the industry average of voice access-lines/employee – 344 lines/employee," says an analyst in the story. Verizon, who offloaded significant debt and lines they didn't want to upgrade, continues to make out like a bandit with this deal. Part of Verizon's plan all along (apparently to Fairpoint's surprise) was to soak up many of these departing customers with wireless LTE service -- and keep in mind they're testing a fixed residential LTE service with DirecTV.
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  tenpin784I Went To The Dark Side?
join:2001-03-30
New Durham, NH | GG Fairpoint Like, who didn't see this happening? | |
|  | CXMNYC
join:2011-08-30
New York, NY | Re: GG Fairpoint Good question, everybody saw this coming it seems except the FCC, the relevant state regulators and the executives at Fairpoint. I hate to accuse anyone of corruption without any actual proof but, if this outcome was obvious to the general public(which I believe it was) how could the government regulators and the corporate executives intimately involved in the deal between Verizon and Fairpoint not see it? I can only speculate that the executives with Fairpoint have all been exceptionally well compensated for saying they'd create jobs and provide better service if the deal went through. The regulators are now probably working as well paid lobbyists for Verizon. If the regulators weren't bought off they're just plain incompetent. I feel for the people who will lose their jobs and I feel for the consumers who are left with crappy Internet service and no hope to get real world class internet service like Fios. | |
| | |  tim_kButtons, Bows, Beamer, Shadow, KaseyPremium,VIP
join:2002-02-02
Stewartstown, PA
kudos:13 | Re: GG Fairpoint said by CXMNYC:Good question, everybody saw this coming it seems except the FCC, the relevant state regulators and the executives at Fairpoint. I hate to accuse anyone of corruption without any actual proof but, if this outcome was obvious to the general public(which I believe it was) how could the government regulators and the corporate executives intimately involved in the deal between Verizon and Fairpoint not see it? I can only speculate that the executives with Fairpoint have all been exceptionally well compensated for saying they'd create jobs and provide better service if the deal went through. The regulators are now probably working as well paid lobbyists for Verizon. If the regulators weren't bought off they're just plain incompetent. I feel for the people who will lose their jobs and I feel for the consumers who are left with crappy Internet service and no hope to get real world class internet service like Fios.
Exactly, The executives get theirs;
quote:
FairPoint Communications' top executive received $1.2 million in salary, bonus and stock awards last year, including a 30 percent increase in his base salary after the company's purchase of Verizon 's landline network in northern New England.
»www.allbusiness.com/company-acti···5-1.html
His total compensation did decrease because the stock price dropped so much. But I bet his pension is calculated from the base salary so he'll still make out.
Maybe someone can keep track of just how many regulators involved in this process now work for either Verizon or Fairpoint.
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RIP my babies Buttons 1/15/94-2/9/07, Beamer 7/24/08, & Bows 12/17/94-10/11/09 | |
| | | | tenpin784I Went To The Dark Side?
join:2001-03-30
New Durham, NH | Re: GG Fairpoint Holy Moly! A 30% raise? I switched jobs and didn't even get that much of a raise!
"Here's an awesome raise for doing such a craptacular job!" | |
| | | | | tim_kButtons, Bows, Beamer, Shadow, KaseyPremium,VIP
join:2002-02-02
Stewartstown, PA
kudos:13 | Re: GG Fairpoint said by tenpin784:Holy Moly! A 30% raise? I switched jobs and didn't even get that much of a raise!
"Here's an awesome raise for doing such a craptacular job!"
Heck that's nothing. Take this as an example.
quote:
Wagoner's salary and other compensation rose 64 percent in 2007 to about $15.7 million ... GM, which reported a record $39 billion net loss in 2007
»www.reuters.com/article/2008/04/···20080425
The top dogs make out like bandits no matter what. Meanwhile the middle class is fighting among themselves, union vs non-union. Private vs government workers. The elite is doing a wonderful job of dividing and conquering the middle class.
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RIP my babies Buttons 1/15/94-2/9/07, Beamer 7/24/08, & Bows 12/17/94-10/11/09 | |
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|  N3OGHYo Soy Col. "Bat" GuanoPremium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
kudos:1 | If there was money to be made in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire then Verizon would have stayed on board.
Only ones making money on this deal are the Investment Bankers & Lawyers that closed the deal....
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Petty people are disproportionally corrupted by petty power | |
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 pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | What Can They Do? Landline service is going the way of the telegraph. If this part of their business is dying, they cannot be expected to keep on unneeded workers in order to support it.
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"Net Neutrality" zealots - the people you can thank for your capped Internet service. | |
| |  heat84Bit Torrent Apologist
join:2004-03-11
Fort Lauderdale, FL | Re: What Can They Do? said by pnh102:Landline service is going the way of the telegraph. If this part of their business is dying, they cannot be expected to keep on unneeded workers in order to support it.
While landline is dying other parts of the business are (presumably) growing. Couldn't those people be put to work there instead of being laid off?
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Bit Torrent is my DVR. | |
| | | pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Re: What Can They Do? said by heat84:While landline is dying other parts of the business are (presumably) growing. Couldn't those people be put to work there instead of being laid off? I would figure if they could work in other parts of the company that needed extra help that would be a possibility. But even if this was the case, not every person has skills that are transferable.
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"Net Neutrality" zealots - the people you can thank for your capped Internet service. | |
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| | Wait a sec... The company promised jobs as a result of the spin-off. What the heck?!?!!?!?!?
/end sarcasm | |
| | | | Re: Wait a sec... the only people that believe the promises are the idiots in the government that approved the deal. Actually they probably knew it wouldn't work, but got paid enough to keep quiet and approve it. | |
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| | SO? get a REAL phone company... not Verizon's dishwater and used underpants rummage sale leftovers | |
| WhatNowPremium
join:2009-05-06
Charlotte, NC | Promises Promises Verizon made out like a bandit. The structured the deal so they did have to pay taxes plus unloaded all the debt on Fairpoint. Everybody but those at the top of Fairpoint got shafted. Anyone holding the debt lost in the bankruptcy. A lot of people at the top knew they were lying or totally incompetent because the failure started before the ink dried.
I look for this to repeat itself in the BellSouth region there are reports the same kind of deal to unload the wireline part of the company are in the works. If the Bells can't make it work how do you expect a second tier company to make it work. The only way is to break every promise made to get approval of the sale. The only thing that might work is to stipulate there will be large personal fines and they will lose their job if they declare bankruptcy in less then 5 or 10 years. None of this WE Have to Pay them a BONUS or all the good managers will leave while they layoff all the tech people that do their job everyday. | |
| Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| Shift from Utility to Business What I want to know is how did providing POTS go from a government mandated utility to a business that can be discarded for the sake of profit.
Yes wireline has been declining but there are still lots of people (and businesses) that rely on POTS. It looks to me like the RBOCs are beating POTS to death to hasten its demise. I know that when a customer is out of service in an area with very bad copper, Verizon will offer them a great deal on a cell phone plan. DSL is out? How about a cheap smart phone!
How does this work in other countries? Is the US the only country left clinging to this outdated, dying technology? If not, how do the other countries provide & maintain such an unprofitable service? Germany... Italy... Japan... what do they do? | |
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