Telecom grows by cutting back
Telcos and wireless carriers continue to increase profits by reducing expenses. Mostly this means people. The industry grows, employees become fewer. Be careful if you are going into this field as a new career. It is a growth industry but not one creating jobs.
I suspect that Verizon will wind up firing or laying off twice what's estimated; figures like this are always set low for public relations. The AP reports: "Verizon Communications Inc. agrees to buy MCI Inc. for $6.75 billion in cash and stock. The deal could result in about 7,000 job cuts from the combined Verizon-MCI work force of about 250,000 employees."