Qwest to cut 2,000 jobs

Qwest Communications International
Inc., the top local-phone company in 14 U.S. western states, lowered its
2002 sales forecast and said it will cut 2,000 jobs.

By Don Stancavish
Bloomberg News Denver Post

Revenue this year will be $18 billion to $18.4 billion, the Denver-based
company said in a statement today. Previously, Qwest forecast 2002 sales of
$19.4 billion to $19.8 billion. Capital spending this year was reduced to
$3.1 billion to $3.4 billion from $4 billion to $4.2 billion.

Qwest shares have fallen 80 percent in the past year as some investors
questioned whether the company improperly boosted sales by swapping
fiber-optic capacity with rivals including Global Crossing Ltd. Qwest is in
talks to sell its Yellow Pages directory business for as much as $9 billion,
according to people familiar with the matter.

The job cuts are in addition to a December announcement that called for
the elimination of 7,000 positions. The company will reduce its workforce to
53,000 by September.

In its statement, Qwest blamed the lower sales forecast on "continuing
weakness in both the telecommunications sector and the regional
economy." It wasn’t more specific.

The company is in preliminary discussions to sell the directory business with
private equity firms including Hicks Muse Tate & Furst Inc., Forstmann Little
& Co. and Blackstone Group LP, as well as R.H. Donnelley Corp., which sells
Yellow Pages advertising, the people said. A sale of the business may take
six months, they said.

Qwest shares fell 42 cents to $7.15 after the announcement.

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