THOUSAND OAKS : GTE to Announce Layoffs on Dec. 21

GTE California Inc. officials are expected to announce Dec. 21 which of a possible 198 employees--many of them in Ventura County--will be laid off early next year, officials said Tuesday.

Letters advising of possible layoffs went out to 198 employees statewide Monday, company spokesman Dan Smith said. The affected employees work in business service centers and in offices that deal with long-distance carriers. Employees who started working for GTE before Dec. 7, 1976, will not be laid off, Smith said. The actual number of layoffs will depend on how many longtime employees decide on a voluntary retirement plan.

Two GTE business service centers in Newbury Park will be consolidated and eventually closed, Smith said. Some of their 74 employees may be transferred to centers elsewhere in California.

Another 62 employees work in a Thousand Oaks office that deals with long-distance carriers. Those jobs will be moved out of state next year.

Jerry Foy, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 9575, which represents most of the 2,500 GTE workers in Ventura County, said the layoffs come at a time when the company is reporting large profits. “Quite frankly, our employees have a difficult time understanding this,” Foy said.

Company officials have said that GTE must reduce costs because the industry is increasingly competitive.

The company has cut about 1,000 jobs a year for the past 12 years and now has about 14,300 employees in the state.