AT&T to cut 3,500 jobs, many in management, take $1.5 billion in charges

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ AT&T Corp. said Monday it will eliminate 3,500 jobs in its business services division and take $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter charges, mainly because of losses on investments in its

Monday, January 6th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ AT&T Corp. said Monday it will eliminate 3,500 jobs in its business services division and take $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter charges, mainly because of losses on investments in its Latin America subsidiary.

The job cuts represent nearly 5 percent of the telephone company's work force.

AT&T said that slightly more than half of the employees affected are in management, and that most of the cuts will be accomplished in the first half of 2003 through layoffs and voluntary measures.

AT&T said the job cuts were made possible by improved operations and automation and were not indicative of the outlook for the business division.

The company said it will take a $1.1 billion write-down on its Latin America investments. AT&T said last year it would cut off its financial support of AT&T Latin America, which provides voice and data services, primarily to businesses.