Sources: WorldCom To Cut Up To 10 Percent Of Staff

WorldCom Inc.

The Clinton, Miss.-based company declined to comment.

The expected layoffs follow other cost-cutting moves at WorldCom, ranging from halting salary increases and stock option grants for some workers, to eliminating free coffee at its offices.

Shares of WorldCom Group, the company's main data and Internet operations, shed 19 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $6.59 in morning trading on Nasdaq. Shares of MCI, its long-distance telephone business, gained 4 cents, to $5.63, also on Nasdaq.

The company has been dogged by concerns over its high debt levels, questions about its accounting methods and loans it made to Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ebbers, issues that have drawn the attention of federal securities regulators.

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