Friday, May 04, 2007

Qwest Cuts Retiree Benefits to benefit

"Qwest Communications International Inc. nearly tripled its net income in the first quarter, thanks to continued adoption of its bundled services, relaxed regulation and cuts in areas including retiree benefits." [Phone+] "However, the company shaved its total net debt by $940 million over the past year. It now carries $13.8 billion in debt; a year ago, it owed $14.7 billion. Qwest was hit hard by the tech bubble that burst in the early 2000s, and it also has had to make up for accounting scandals that plagued it several years ago."

Qwest is losing wireline and gaining video and cellular - two areas it is only a sales agent for. (It offers Internet via DSL lines and has partnerships to resell DirecTV's satellite television service and Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless phone service.)

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