Sprint plans to cut 160 jobs in Herndon, Va.

Sprint Nextel will cut 160 jobs from its Herndon, Va., operations in March, the company announced yesterday, as the carrier looks to cut costs in the new year.

The layoffs will come from Sprint's Xohm operations, its WiMAX business that merged with Clearwire Corp. late in 2008. The company said that after the merger some employees were offered jobs at Sprint and some at Clearwire; the job cuts come from the remaining employees.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said further job cuts may come, but will not announce any specific plans until the company reports its fourth quarter financial and subscriber numbers. Sprint, headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., has said that it may shutter up to 20 call centers in 2009 to cut costs.

Sprint has said it will provide WiMAX service as an MVNO of Clearwire under the brand "Sprint 4G." Analysts have cautioned that Clearwire's nationwide mobile WiMAX rollout may have to be slowed if it faces a capital spending shortfall. Clearwire currently operates in Portland, Ore., and Baltimore and has said it will detail its expansion plans in the coming weeks.

For more:
- see this article

Related Articles:
Sprint's Hesse: call centers may close, but panic will not reign
Sprint may close call centers to cut costs