FairPoint Confirms Dozens of Job Cuts

FairPoint Communications Inc. (FRP) confirmed today it has laid off 56 people, or less than 1.5 percent of its workforce.

Employees across the country – from Washington state to Maine – were affected by last week’s layoffs, said Rose Cummings, vice president of corporate communications for FairPoint. Only legacy markets were affected, not the landline regions FairPoint bought from Verizon Communications Inc. in early 2007 for $2.3 billion.

The culprit responsible for the cuts is, of course, the economy. Cummings said that, like everyone else, FairPoint has to “make adjustments” so it can weather the downturn.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings has lowered its outlook for FairPoint from “stable” to “negative.” On Jan. 23, the firm said FairPoint has lost more access line customers than expected and has become subject to tighter borrowing requirements, as has every other company in America.

FairPoint has lost more than 80,000 customers since it bought Verizon’s northern New England landline phone and Internet business, the Associated Press reported Friday. FairPoint has yet to integrate those assets, another factor Fitch cited for reducing its ratings.