PacTel to Cut 11,000 in Work Force by ’94 : Labor: Staff reductions will occur mostly in the company’s Pacific Bell unit.

Pacific Telesis Group said today it will cut its work force over the next five years by about 11,000 employees, or 16%, in an effort to streamline operations amid increasing competition.

The communications company said the cuts will be made through early retirement offerings, out-placement programs and attrition. Further details of the plan will be provided to its 69,000 employees within a week.

It said the staff cuts, due partially to improved technology, will not have a significant impact on earnings.

“Staffing requirements change over time in this dynamic industry; what was appropriate in 1989 clearly will not be in 1994,” Phil Quigley, president of the company’s Pacific Bell unit, said in a statement.

Pacific Telesis Chairman Sam Ginn said the company’s goal is to operate more efficiently in the 1990s. “Looking ahead, we remain keenly focused on our customers and the need to streamline operations so we can meet the challenges of increasing competition,” Ginn said.

Pacific Telesis, based in San Francisco, is one of seven regional holding companies formerly owned by American Telephone & Telegraph Co. The regional phone concerns, or Baby Bells, were formed after a federal court ordered the dismantling of the Bell System in 1984.

Pacific Telesis serves nearly 22 million people in California and Nevada. Pacific Telesis said Pacific Bell has reduced its work force by 17,000 since the Bell breakup.

Pacific Bell was one of several Bells that were struck by the Communications Workers of America in August but was one of the first to reach a tentative settlement and its workers returned to their jobs after 15 days.

The company said the staff reductions, which should substantially reduce labor costs, will occur mostly in its Pacific Bell unit, affecting about 7,600 non-salaried jobs and 3,400 management positions. About 50 positions will be eliminated at the holding company, it said, with the cuts expected to be completed this year.

The cuts will not affect Pacific Telesis units PacTel Cellular, PacTel Paging, Pacific Telesis International, PacTel Business Systems and PacTel Properties, the company said.

It said an early retirement plan will be offered to certain employees. Pacific Telesis also said “surplus managers” at Pacific Bell who are not eligible for early retirement will have the option of being retrained for other jobs, accepting a lower position or an “exit package.”