Windstream layoffs won't affect Springfield office

Little Rock, Ark.-based Windstream Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: WIN) announced plans last week to lay off a multitude of employees, but according to a company official, the Springfield office will be unaffected.

The 14 employees at the company's 1523 E. Lark St. sales office in Springfield will not be part of the 400-job purge, Windstream spokesman Scott Morris said via email.

Effective by March 3, the companywide cuts would include 175 positions being eliminated through a voluntary separate initiative, according to a news release. Windstream currently employs some 13,500.

“Changes that affect people are never easy, but they are necessary for Windstream to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace,” Windstream President and CEO Jeff Gardner said in the release. “We continue to invest in our growth areas, primarily business services and consumer broadband, and at the same time we must maintain a disciplined approach to expense management.”

The affected employees will be paid severance and offered outplacement counseling. The cuts are expected to result in annual savings of roughly $20 million for Windstream, after it incurs a first-quarter charge of up to $10 million to pay severance, according to the release.

A provider of networking communications to businesses, Windstream is scheduled to release its 2013 earnings report Feb. 27.

WIN shares were trading at $7.89 as of 9:54 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $7.18 to $8.96.