Atlanta
(2012-02-21)
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ATLANTA, GA
(WABE) -
Today the first of about 500 workers at AT&T were offered severance packages or possible transfers within the company.
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Union representatives and Occupy Atlanta demonstrators continued their protests outside the AT&T building in midtown Atlanta.
About 30 protestors gathered on the steps of AT&Ts Atlanta headquarters.
Walter Andrews, president of the local chapter of the Communications Workers of America, represents about 2400 AT&T employees.
"This is a 278 billion dollar company," said Andrews. "Bottomline is they care nothing about their employess. A few years from now a lot of other people will be out here with the same argument until people wake up and have an outcry to stop AT&T from doing what they're doing."
About 90 workers in Atlanta will be affected by the cuts.
AT&T spokesman Marty Richter says the layoffs are the result of customers shifting from landline to wireless phone service. He says the company is more than making up for the layoffs with hires on its wireless side of business.
However, Occupy protestor Ron Allen says the layoffs represent a larger problem.
"Each corporation is kind of like playing Jenga with American society - how much can they pull out before the whole thing collapses? At this point we're just standing up."
Earlier this month, police arrested a dozen protesters after they set up tents in the lobby of AT&T's midtown Atlanta building. © Copyright 2012, WABE
