Verizon Says 21,000 Take Buyouts

Verizon (VZ Quote) is getting into fighting trim just as the holiday season arrives.

The nation's leading telco said Monday that 21,000 workers had accepted its buyout offer and will leave the payroll next week. The move comes as Verizon, forced to slash expenses by fierce competition in the telecom business, seeks to reassure testy investors and consolidate its strong gains in the fast-growing wireless area.

"This allows us to further control our destiny," President Larry Babbio told investors and analysts gathered at the UBS eighth annual Global Communications Conference. "We can now shift our resources to growth areas."

Verizon shares, which have fallen more than 10% this year as Wall Street frets over erosion of the company's local phone business, rose 12 cents in early Monday action, to $32.73.

The workers accepting the buyout offer include 16,000 management employees and 5,000 union members, Verizon said. The company will take an undisclosed fourth-quarter charge to cover severance pay and pension adjustments. The cutbacks will trim the New York phone giant's workforce by about 10%.

The payroll cutback comes in a time of belt-tightening in the telecommunications industry, which has been hit hard by the rise of wireless services. As TheStreet.com reported last week, Verizon had expected as many as 22,000 workers to accept the buyout offer, which targeted better-paid and more senior workers.