r
r
r
October 4, 2001 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — XO Communications, Inc. (xo.com), said that it remains intent
r
on achieving EBITDA positive status in the first half of 2002 and will trim
r
expenses by reducing its workforce by approximately 600 employees
r
representing about eight percent of the total XO employee base.
r
r
Additionally, XO reiterated that it would meet previously announced
r
estimates for the company’s third quarter 2001 revenue and EBITDA.
r
r
The workforce reduction will occur primarily in staff support areas and will
r
not have a significant impact on XO’s sales or customer care organizations
r
or on its front-line provisioning positions responsible for installing new
r
customers or services on the XO network.
r
r
“We are determined to position XO to survive the current challenges in
r
today’s economy. We deeply regret taking this action given the impact on
r
some of our employees, but we are convinced it can be accomplished without
r
affecting our ability to win customers and meet their telecommunications
r
needs, ” said XO chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “Over the past eighteen
r
months, XO has been transitioning from a network construction posture to an
r
operational organization that is running an integrated national/local
r
network. The reductions reflect this transition and are expected to put the
r
company more in line with mature operational productivity metrics.”
r
r
Several of the targeted areas impacted within XO include its new market
r
construction team that no longer requires the same staffing levels resources
r
due to the completion of substantial portions of the XOs network. Other
r
reductions include portions of the company’s IT organization which has
r
recently completed the development of a number of business systems within
r
XO.
r
r
XO will provide financial details associated with the reduction and its
r
financial operations for the third quarter on its quarterly results
r
conference call in late Oct.
