Verizon Says 21,000 Take Buyouts

Last Thursday, San Antonio telco SBC (SBC Quote) said it too would "accelerate" the pace of its job-cutting efforts in coming periods, mostly through attrition. The company told Wall Street that it expected "productivity and customer service improvement initiatives" to "save $1.3 billion in annual expenses and capital costs by 2006."

Also last week, Atlanta-based BellSouth (BLS Quote) told analysts it will cut $500 million in costs next year and an added $600 million in 2005. Though BellSouth executives did not share specifics, they did say they would look at a range of areas, including contractors and staff, to make the necessary reductions.

Taken as a whole, the telecom industry has shed about 380,000 jobs during the downturn -- a gargantuan figure until you consider that it added some 500,000 between 1996 and 2000.

Verizon hasn't exactly helped itself throughout the past three years of turmoil. The company had racked up more than $64 billion in debt around the turn of the century and has only recently reduced that mammoth total to slightly more than $45 billion. Verizon also had the two highest-paid executives last year, with the now-retired Chuck Lee raking in $15.6 million and CEO Ivan Seidenberg pulling down $9.5 million.