PacTel Says It Will Lay Off 26 in Costa Mesa
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PacTel Cellular, operator of Southern California’s cellular telephone network and one of the nation’s most successful cellular businesses, said Wednesday that it will lay off 26 employees in its Costa Mesa headquarters Friday because of a corporate reorganization.
The layoffs, which represent less than 10% of the company’s 300-member work force, coincide with the planned activation Saturday morning of the region’s second cellular telephone network. With the start-up of the new LA Cellular system, PacTel is expected to lose nearly 30% of its estimated 65,000 customers.
Company officials said the layoffs, which will affect primarily white-collar workers involved in customer billing and system design, have nothing to do with the introduction of the competing network. “It’s purely coincidental,” a spokesman said. “This restructuring began late last year.”
According to the company, which is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis, the restructuring was necessary to serve its far-flung operations, which include cellular systems in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego and Atlanta. Under the reorganization, officials said, responsibilities will be decentralized out of the headquarters in Costa Mesa and given to the regional offices. Company officials said the layoffs, which are the first in PacTel Cellular’s four-year history, are expected to save an estimated $1.3 million annually.
On Saturday morning, LA Cellular will begin serving about 15,000 to 20,000 customers to whom it had been reselling cellular service from the PacTel system. Under federal regulations, PacTel was required to sell cellular service to LA Cellular at wholesale prices while the second network was under construction.
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