Area Alltel jobs in limbo after sale to Verizon

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) 71 views 

It’s unclear what impact the sale of Little Rock-based Alltel Corp. to Verizon will have on the estimated 50-60 Alltel jobs in the Fort Smith Area.

Verizon Wireless is buying Alltel in a $28 billion deal expected to close in January.

Alltel employs 25 at a 90,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution center at 5000 Burrough Road in south Fort Smith, and employs 25-35 in retail operations in the area.

Alltel spokesman Andrew Moreau said Verizon will determine what assets and operations remain after the deal is finalized. He said he is not aware of any timeframes for such decisions.

Alltel’s Fort Smith warehouse opened in 2003 at a cost of about $6 million. The company said then it would employ about 20 at a pay range between $10 and $12 an hour.

At the time of its opening, the warehouse was used by Alltel to provide voice and data networking equipment in a 21-state region stretching from Illinois to Nevada and including Arizona, Texas and Louisiana.