Verizon-Alltel Fallout: One State Lost 600 Jobs

Verizon Wireless has cut 600 jobs in Arkansas since it acquired Alltel for more than $28 billion in January 2009. While that sounds like bad news, NWA Online reports that number is 700 fewer than what the company originally thought it would cut from Alltel’s former Little Rock headquarters.

When it first took over Alltel in Arkansas, Verizon Wireless had about 3,000 employees on staff. The company has now acknowledged there are just 2,400 workers, but that number was anticipated to dip well below 2,000.

Verizon Wireless in December sued Alltel’s former CIO in Arkansas for taking a similar job with another company, claiming that he could use proprietary information in his new position, something we posed could set a scary precedent for ex-Alltel workers.