The Job Losses Begin

SBC and AT&T plan to eliminate about 13,000 jobs — twice as many as some on Wall Street had expected — as part of a plan to slash costs by $15 billion. Of those cost savings, which the companies dubbed "synergies," about 60% will come from job cuts, said Rick Lindner, SBC's CFO, in a meeting with analysts Tuesday. The companies now employ a combined total of 210,000 workers.

SBC itemized where some of the cuts will come. For example, it said it plans to jettison at least 5,125 jobs (26% of the total that both companies have) in a segment that serves business and government customers. An additional 2,600 people in corporate functions such as legal, human resources, finance and advertising will be let go. The cuts are in addition to those already announced by the two companies for 2005.