Posted on 11/08/2012 11:18:20 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
U.S. Cellular will sell markets including Chicago to units of Sprint Nextel Corp. for $480 million.
The move will result in 980 job cuts at U.S. Cellular, with 640 in the Chicago area, according to a spokeswoman. The cuts are slightly under 12 percent of the approximately 8,400 total employees U.S. Cellular had at the end of the third quarter.
The company plans to keep its headquarters in Chicago, President and CEO Mary Dillon said on a conference call this morning, according to a transcript.
The Chicago White Sox also will continue to play at U.S. Cellular Field. "Our naming rights to the ballpark are not a part of this deal with Sprint. The White Sox are a great partner and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them," U.S. Cellular said in a statement.
The sale includes about 585,000 customers, or about 10 percent of its customers, U.S. Cellular said.
Danny Ecker On Sports
The telecom company says it's sticking with its naming rights deal with the White Sox, which runs through 2023. What’s the return on investment for this pricey piece of advertising?
Danny has his doubts.
In addition to Chicago, the sale includes St. Louis, central Illinois and three other markets in the Midwest. It also includes PCS spectrum.
U.S. Cellular said, "There is no immediate change for any of our customers. Customers that live in one of the affected markets should know that we will continue to provide the best customer experience during the transition and we will communicate with them over the coming months."
In a statement announcing the sale, Ms. Dillon said: "In the dynamic wireless marketplace, we have a clear strategy to accelerate profitable growth and increase return on investment over the long term, and we are taking decisive steps to achieve it. Exiting these markets enables us to play to our strengths in markets where we have higher penetration and where we can effectively sharpen our proven strategy to differentiate the U.S. Cellular customer experience from other wireless carriers."
The company also said it will transition a customer service center in southwest suburban Bolingbrook to a vendor, a move to take effect Jan. 1.
Thanks for posting all these. I grab the headlines or titles if you will and post them for my liberal family and friends on Facebook. It drives them nuts. :-P
HOORAY U.S. Cellular! Prepare. Persevere.
Doing the same.
Ditto. The NWO has arrived. Buckle your seat belts.
Is Atlas starting to shrug?
But hey! At least you have big bird, right?
Do you reckon any Obama voters were laid off because I am not sure if those voters actually work.
Do you reckon any Obama voters were laid off because I am not sure if those voters actually work.
Do you reckon any Obama voters were laid off because I am not sure if those voters actually work.
What’s gonna happen to “U.S Cellular Fieldl?
Reinsdorf should go back and rename it Comiskey Park .
Are you a ‘layoffs after election of 0bama’ tracker? I’d like more info. Are we headed for about 10% or 15% unemployment rate come this March or June or so? It sure as damn hell looks like it.
Ping!!
Are we headed for about 10% or 15% unemployment rate.... The REAL rate HAS BEEN 14.7 for months, according to BLS. The 8% is cooking the books. The ACTUAL unemployment rate is 35% heading to %0%, but they’ll just cook the books. To get a better perspective, check out the average number of hours worked per work in the US and divide that by the number of workers. A full time job is now considered 20 hours a week. The number of workers has gone up but the total number of hours worked per week has dropped.
So, they are hiding the collapse to ensure it can’t be reversed: SURPRISE!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.