December 7, 2012

FairPoint Communications lays off 29 workers

By Jessica Hall jhall@pressherald.com
Staff Writer

FairPoint Communications, which provides telephone and Internet services, said on Friday it laid off 29 workers, mostly in Maine and New Hampshire as part of a cost-cutting effort.

click image to enlarge

In this 2011 file photo, the central office building for FairPoint Communications at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and Forest Avenue in Portland undergoes a multimillion-dollar renovation. FairPoint Communications, which provides telephone and Internet services, said on Friday it laid off 29 workers, mostly in Maine and New Hampshire.

Gregory Rec / Staff Photographer

The workers were non-union employees in a variety of departments, according to spokesman Jeff Nevins. Of the workers laid off, 13 were in Maine, 13 others were in New Hampshire, and the remainder were in Vermont and Florida, he said.

The workers were fired last week, he said.

"We're constantly adjusting our workforce and looking for ways to reduce costs," Nevins said.

FairPoint has made headlines three times in the last eight days. "Human error" by FairPoint employees led much of the Maine state government's computer network being shut down Nov. 30 for several hours, according to Jennifer Smith, spokeswoman for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services

On Thursday, the Public Utilities Commission of Maine awared FairPoint a five-year, $32 million contract to provide the next-generation 911 system in Maine.

The company employs a total of 3,300 workers, including 1,200 in Maine.

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