Comcast ends operation in Oaks, Montgomery County

Comcast Corp. has eliminated a cable-division headquarters in Oaks, Montgomery County, which could affect about 150 employees.

Cable operations in Pennsylvania and in the Washington area will now report to a division headquarters in the Boston area. The news was disclosed internally to employees.

"Some functions may remain at Oaks, and there is no plan at this time to close Oaks down," said Comcast spokeswoman Beth Bacha. Comcast expects the "vast majority" of employees with Oaks-based jobs to be absorbed into other Comcast offices in the Philadelphia area or other places, the company said.

The other Comcast operations include Bensalem and Exton - which had reported to Oaks - and the corporate office in Center City.

Comcast could be considering cutbacks as the end of the year approaches and its cable operations are under pressure because of competition. In the third quarter, the company lost 275,000 subscribers nationally.

Comcast also is seeking government approval to acquire a controlling stake in the NBC Universal Inc. entertainment and news giant. Bacha said there was no connection with the restructuring in the cable operations and the NBCU deal.

After the realignment, Comcast will run its cable business with about 23 million TV subscribers through divisions based in the Boston area, Atlanta, and Denver. That is down from five large divisions a few years ago.

The restructuring, at a minimum, will eliminate the salary of a top division executive. The division boss in Atlanta, John Ridall, is retiring. Bill Connors, the current division head in Oaks, will relocate to Atlanta and replace him, with responsibility over the South and Midwest. The head of the cable division in the Boston area is Kevin Casey, and in Denver it is Steve White.

Comcast has aligned the divisions with major competitors. Verizon Communications Inc., for instance, is the major competitor in the Northeast Corridor, from Boston to Washington.