Qwest taking volunteers for unpaid leave
A first for the company, the No. 4 local telephone provider is hoping to cut costs and put a dent in its $26 billion debt load.
Qwest, which has about 57,000 workers, said the voluntary program would run from July 1 through the end of September. No employees will be forced to take unpaid leave and the company had no total savings target for the program, Qwest spokesman Tyler Gronbach said.
The program, which grew from an idea submitted through an employee suggestion box, is open to management and union workers. Supervisors will approve time off based on the needs of the business, Gronbach said. It is the first time the company has offered unpaid leave.
The Denver-based company has been under pressure in recent months as it scrambled to relieve a cash crunch, saw its debt rating slashed to "junk" status, put assets up for sale, and faced an accounting probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Merrill Lynch on Friday cut its intermediate-term and long-term investment ratings on Qwest to "reduce/sell" from "neutral."
Shares of Qwest shed 3 cents, or 1.09 percent, to $2.73 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
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