FairPoint Communications is eliminating more than 200 jobs across northern New England - more than 10 percent of its workforce in the region.
The company says the cuts are necessary to remain competitive, but union leaders say the measures will further erode service quality.
FairPoint says a total 260 jobs are being cut in 17 states, with most of those losses affecting northern New England. Labor union officials say nearly 220 positions are being eliminated in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, including about 60 jobs in South Burlington, Vermont, where a call center is being closed.
"For this company to come in, FairPoint, and destroy this business, is just unspeakable, because that's exactly what they're doing," says Don Trementozzi, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1400, which represents about 150 workers in Maine.
He says news of the cuts came as a surprise on Friday morning.
"Yeah we were absolutely thrown for a loop this morning," he says. "I mean it was an announcement that we did not get a heads-up on, and the phones have been ringing off the hook and we have no answers from the company yet on exactly how this is going to play out."
"Customer service here in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont is certainly going to significantly suffer with these layoffs," says Peter McLaughlin, business manager at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2327, representing nearly 700 FairPoint employees.
He points out that FairPoint — which provides landline telephone digital communications services — is under investigation by regulators for its inability to meet service standards.
"And getting rid of all these people isn't going to help that," he says.
McLaughlin also describes the layoffs as a "slap in the face," coming less than three months after the end of a 131-day strike by FairPoint employees.
A Fairpoint spokesperson declined to go on tape, but in a statement company CEO Paul H. Sunu says that while difficult, the steps help solidify the company's future.