 The AT&T purchase created the US's largest mobile phone operator |
Cingular, which became the largest mobile phone operator in the US after buying AT&T Wireless, is to cut about 7,000 jobs in the next 12 to 18 months. In February Cingular beat UK rival Vodafone in a brief but tense battle for AT&T Wireless.
It agreed to pay $41bn (�22bn) for the firm, some $3bn more than Vodafone reportedly offered.
The job losses - representing 10% of the firm's workforce - will mainly occur in administration, Cingular said.
The company had previously indicated it would cut jobs to avoid duplication of roles.
US regulators last month approved the purchase, which resulted in the merger of the second and third largest mobile phone operators in the US.
Cingular now has more than 46 million subscribers, compared to rival Verizon's 40 million.
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