Upstate NY-based Paetec cuts 222 jobs

FAIRPORT, N.Y. - Paetec Holding Corp., a telecommunications services provider based in suburban Rochester, is eliminating 222 full-time jobs, or 5 percent of its work force.

Paetec sells voice and data services mainly to small and medium-sized businesses around the nation. It employs about 4,000 people, 900 of them in the Rochester region in western New York.

The company announced the layoffs in a regulatory filing Friday, calling them part of a broader effort to streamline operations amid the economic slowdown. It says it plans to spend $6.6 million through the end of 2010 to cover the cutbacks.

Paetec's stock edged down 2 cents Friday afternoon to $1.30, which is at the low end of its 52-week trading range of 76 cents to $11.04.

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