By Josh Long

CenturyLink, Inc. plans to reduce its national workforce by 1,000 employees, a cost-cutting measure that the company plans to fully implement by early September.

The Monroe, Louisiana-based telecom company will eliminate current jobs and not backfill open positions, CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen said in an email. Molzen said CenturyLink also plans to minimize the company’s number of contractor relationships, cut travel expenses and further reduce non-employee-related expenses.

“We recognize that job reductions impact employees and their families, and we will provide career assistance to those employees who are impacted,” Molzen said.

As of June 30, CenturyLink employed 44,400 workers, operated approximately 12.1 million access lines in 37 states and served roughly 6.1 million broadband subscribers. 

The planned layoffs, first reported on by the Monroe-based News Star, were revealed after CenturyLink reported second-quarter results that fell short of the company’s forecast and Wall Street’s consensus. CenturyLink posted adjusted diluted earnings per share of 55 cents on operating revenues of $4.42 billion.

CenturyLink’s stock was up nearly 4 percent on the news in Monday afternoon trading.