BellSouth Considers Job Reductions

BellSouth Corp., the No. 3 U.S. local phone company, might eliminate some of its 108,000 jobs to lower costs amid a slowdown in demand for communications services.

Employees would be notified before any public statement, and no such internal announcement has been made, a spokesman said. He declined to specify the timing or magnitude of any cuts.

BellSouth and the biggest local phone companies, Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications Inc., might lower sales and profit forecasts for this year and next as a slower economy crimps demand, analysts have said. Atlanta-based BellSouth will report third-quarter earnings Thursday.

Shares of BellSouth, the dominant local phone service provider in nine southeastern states, fell 40 cents to $39 on the New York Stock Exchange.