Oregon Public Broadcasting

A company many Oregonians rely on for phone service is cutting jobs.

Qwest saw its earnings plunge in the third quarter. It's reducing its workforce by three percent over its fourteen-state region.

For Oregon operations, that means the loss of about a hundred positions, all through early retirement packages.

Ken Saether is president of the Communications Workers of America Local 7906, one of the unions representing Qwest workers.  He says, given that more home phone service is provided by cable companies, the news was not a surprise.

Ken Saether: "As the access lines bleed off, we know there's going to be a reduction in forces. Typically, a company such as Qwest that's regulated, the only way they can save money is by going down people."

Saether says he's speaking as a union official, not as an employee of Qwest.   He notes that cable providers don't have to follow the same regulations as Qwest and other traditional phone providers. That, he says, has been a sore point in the industry.

The company has added some high speed internet services to try to compete with cable providers.

Qwest chairman Edward Mueller said in a conference call he believes consumers are less likely to cut back on internet service, even as the economy falters.