EarthLink to cut 900 jobs, close Pa. office

ATLANTA - Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. said yesterday that it would cut 900 jobs - about half its workforce - and close offices in Pennsylvania and three other states in an effort to reduce operating costs.

The announcement came amid EarthLink's struggle to generate revenue as dial-up-access customers turn to high-speed alternatives from cable and phone companies.

More cuts could be announced before the year's end, said Rolla P. Huff, the Atlanta-based company's president and chief executive officer. EarthLink also said it would repurchase $200 million of its stock.

The company had counted on the right to sell customers access to citywide wireless networks in exchange for helping cities build the networks. But amid questions about customer demand and the technology's performance, EarthLink announced in April that it was reviewing new deployments while evaluating the performance of the current rollouts in cities including Philadelphia. Wireless Philadelphia, the nonprofit group overseeing the Philadelphia deployment, said yesterday that the project was unaffected by the EarthLink job cuts.

The company said yesterday that it would close offices in Orlando, Fla.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and San Francisco and "substantially reduce its presence" in Atlanta and Pasadena, Calif.