THE WAR of attrition between America’s long-distance telecoms groups yesterday claimed 1,100 workers at Sprint, the third-ranked carrier, as it sought to cut costs in line with falling prices.

The latest cuts at Sprint, which is among a handful of US telecoms groups to have overspent on network capacity at the height of the telecoms boom, takes its total redundancies to almost 5,000 since last November as it battles against rivals MCI and AT&T.

The cuts are equal to about 1.7 per cent of Sprint’s total payroll, with more than half coming from its division that targets corporate customers. The competition among the leading three long-distance players has driven down corporate calling prices from about 10 cents (5.47p) per minute ten years ago to about 3 cents today.

Sprint said that the cuts would help it to meet the aim of Gary Forsee, its chief executive, to lower annual costs by $1 billion by 2006 and bolster profits in the face of fierce competition.

The company said that the redundancies would not affect its profit outlook. A decline in earnings from its long- distance business is expected to be offset by higher profits at its wireless division and steady earnings from local services.

America’s long-distance telecoms sector has become crowded as local providers, such as Verizon Communications and SBC Communications, have diversified.

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