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Lucent to shed 1,700 jobs
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November 2, 1999: 2:41 p.m. ET
Reduced need for repair, customer service workers leads to layoffs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Telecom equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc. said Tuesday it will eliminate nearly 1,700 positions, or about 1 percent of its workforce, because of a reduced need for business repair and client service employees.
The Murray Hill, N.J.-based company said it expects to eliminate some 1,200 field technician positions in the larger metropolitan areas it serves by issuing buyout packages to some of its 7,000 business phone service technicians. The main regions it serves include New York, New Jersey, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago and California.
Lucent also will close two of its customer billing centers, in Tucson, Ariz., and Silver Spring, Md., eliminating an additional 280 positions. Those workers' functions will be handled out of the company's existing call centers in New Jersey, Oklahoma and Georgia, according to Bill Price, a Lucent spokesman. Some 200 managerial positions also will be cut.
Price said Lucent is offering packages to all affected employees, including voluntary buyouts that in some cases will include up to two years pay, based on the worker's seniority. About two-thirds of the technicians already are eligible to receive full pension benefits.
Price also said some of the affected employees will be given an opportunity to relocate to other areas of the company. "These are difficult situations and we try to offer our employees as many different options as possible," he said.
The company currently has 153,000 employees. All of the cuts should be completed by the end of the year, Price said.
Lucent decided to trim its work force because it no longer manually installs wires in buildings. Instead, the company now has systems that allow for remote diagnosis and repair of problems, "lowering the volume of repairs and the time it takes to complete them," Price said.
Lucent designs, produces and services systems and software that provide wireless communications access. It's shares were down 5/8 to 64-3/8 in afternoon trading in New York. 
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Lucent Technologies
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