During a rally yesterday protesting the forced retirements and layoffs of hundreds of workers at Verizon Communications, Del. Joseph D. Morrissey criticized the company for cutting employees while earning billions in profits.
"I find it terribly unfortunate that a company that has made $12 billion in two years would cut 1,000 jobs," said Morrissey, D-Henrico. "Good companies concentrate on making profit for their shareholders but they're mindful of keeping people employed in their communities."
Morrissey spoke to about 30 Verizon employees and union officials who protested for about an hour yesterday outside the State Corporation Commission, which regulates telecommunications companies in Virginia.
Union officials said 500 Verizon workers in Virginia, Maryland and Washington will lose their jobs in January and another 500 jobs will be lost through attrition.
In the Richmond area, about 140 employees have been given options to retire or be laid off, said Richard T. Hatch, executive vice president of the Communications Workers of America Local 2201.
"What we're asking Verizon to do is to simply live up to their responsibility and be a leader in this troubled economy," Hatch said. "This is not General Motors. . . . This is a company making a profit."
Through the third quarter of this year, Verizon had a net income of $4.3 billion, down from $5.2 billion during the same period last year.
Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell said the cuts were part of a plan announced earlier this year to reduce Verizon's work force by 8,000 people. He did not comment on local numbers.
He did confirm that a call-repair center off Nansemond Street in Richmond is closing as part of the cuts, but he said 90 percent of employees at the center either moved to another location or took a buyout offer.
Yesterday's protesters said there is enough work to keep employees, claiming that quality of service will suffer as a result of the cutbacks.
Mitchell said that while the company is profitable, the wireline division has seen a drop in landline telephone users -- about 40 percent in the past few years. "We are adjusting work force in those area of business that are contracting," he said.
Verizon is mindful that customers have many options and that customer service will remain a priority, Mitchell said.
Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.
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