GTE Sends Out 300 Layoff Notices, Offers Severance Incentives : Cutbacks: The number of workers who will actually get pink slips at the Thousand Oaks-based company is still uncertain.

1,339 of whom work at corporate headquarters in Ventura County--financial incentives to retire early or quit.

GTE officials said the number of employees who will actually be laid off in two months depends on how many others opt for the voluntary retirement and separation programs. A company spokesman said he did not know how many of the 300 employees who were given layoff notices work in Ventura County.

Nearly all of GTE’s 3,712 managers statewide are eligible for either program, and about 1,616 of the company’s 12,543 hourly employees are eligible for the early retirement plan, officials said.

A union official said the layoff numbers were better than he expected.

“I was anticipating a bigger announcement in terms of the cuts. When it came out I was surprised,” said Jerry Foy, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 9575 in Camarillo, which represents most of the company’s hourly employees.

But Foy said he anticipates many more layoffs in the next two years as the company consolidates offices, automates many jobs and shifts positions out of state.

“Our people are paranoid as hell as it is,” Foy said. Tuesday’s announcement “just adds to the stress level that they’re already under. They know that at some point in time something’s going to happen to them, but they don’t know when.”

The layoffs and voluntary separation programs were announced by GTE West Area President Larry Sparrow and are part of the telecommunications company’s ongoing efforts to trim the size of its work force.

GTE has eliminated about 1,000 jobs a year for the past 12 years. But only in the past few months has the company begun laying off employees.

For managers, Tuesday’s offers are the most lucrative proposals they have received since a similar plan in 1987, officials said.

“We really think that because of the attractiveness of the package, acceptance is going to be high,” said Rob Williams, a budget manager who said he is considering the early retirement plan.

“I’m really anxious to look at the package and see how the numbers look,” he said.

Gene Eng, GTE’s regional manager of regulatory affairs, said the programs were what most management employees had anticipated.

“To individuals who would like to pursue other opportunities, this gives them a vehicle to do that,” Eng said.

The early retirement plan is primarily for long-term management and hourly employees who are at least 50 years old and have worked at least 12 years for the company.

The company will add five years to an employee’s age and three years to the employee’s years of service for purposes of its pension fund.

In addition, those who opt for the voluntary separation will receive a lump sum payment based on their years of service.

Hourly workers who accept early retirement will leave the company by April 30. Most of the managers who opt for either of the programs will leave by May 21.

GTE California serves more than 3 million customers in 330 communities statewide. It is a subsidiary of GTE Corp. of Stamford, Conn.