PORTLAND, Maine — FairPoint Communications plans to lay off 79 Maine line workers and technicians, the highest state total amid 260 layoffs across 17 states.
About 85 percent of the layoffs are in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, but the exact totals could still be a subject for negotiation. FairPoint announced its layoffs and the closure of its South Burlington, Vermont, call center on Friday morning.
The company, which weathered a 131-day strike in late 2014, said that the cuts, primarily of line workers and outside technicians, come in response to a decline in revenue from landline service.
“Faced with the realities of the industry and the competitive landscape in which we operate, we must be keenly focused on managing costs and enhancing productivity,” said CEO Paul Sunu in a news release. “These steps, while difficult, help solidify our future.”
The unions representing call center workers and outside technicians in northern New England said the company plans to cut 219 jobs in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, equal to about 10 percent of the workforce in the region.
“This announcement is deeply disappointing and illustrates yet again that FairPoint executives are beholden to the greedy Wall Street hedge funds who own the company, not to our customers,” said Don Trementozzi, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1400.
Union and management representatives plan to meet next week to further discuss details that will determine how many people are laid off in each state.
Peter McLaughlin, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers chapter in Maine, criticized the decision in a written statement and said it stands to damage service quality on FairPoint networks.
“FairPoint has failed to meet service quality benchmarks for years, and cutting its skilled workforce by more than 10 percent will only make matters worse,” McLaughlin said. “We are disgusted by this company’s total disregard for its employees and customers.”
McLaughlin was a lead negotiator in the contract battle resolved after the 131-day strike, a period during which FairPoint’s landline service quality fell far short of state requirements.
The company most recently posted a net loss of $45.2 million for the first three months of 2015. Sunu said that the company’s long-term strategy includes a general shift away from the decline in landline service demand and could include a merger in which FairPoint is either the buyer or the seller.