U.S. Sprint Communications said it has launched...

U.S. Sprint Communications said it has launched a companywide program to reduce costs, following its disclosure of first-quarter losses of $138 million. Spokesman Syd Courson confirmed a report in Communications Week, an industry newspaper, that President Robert Snedaker has asked all department managers to determine how much can be cut from their budgets. Courson said Sprint, the long-distance carrier that is a joint venture of GTE Corp. and United Telecommunications Inc., had not set a specific target for the cost cuts. “There is no across-the-board figure,” Courson said. “It will vary by department.”