There seem to be as many plans to cut Sprint staffers as there are Sprint execs.
Chief Service Officer Bob Johnson is offering up the latest reductions in force, telling Bloomberg News that up to 20 customer call centers could be closed in 2009.
Johnson said he expects customer calls about bills and handsets to drop 20 percent in 2009, matching the decline in 2008. The cuts result from improvements in Sprint service, he said.
Johnson said customers used to call Sprint "at an increasingly alarming rate -- about twice our competitors average per subscriber."
Sprint plans to fire contractors -- the majority of Sprint's customer service force -- before laying off its own employees, Johnson said.
Many of Sprint's call centers are run by IBM and Convergys.
The move followed speculation Monday from Pali analyst Walter Puecyk that Sprint will cut thousands of jobs in January.

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