Todd Clausen

@ToddJClausen

Decisions on staffing and facilities of the combined companies have yet to be sorted out.

While Windstream’s acquisition has cleared regulatory hurdles, the impact of the company’s $1.1 billion deal for EarthLink still holds some uncertainty for roughly 1,000 Rochester-area workers.

The Arkansas-based telecom said Tuesday that it has received all state and federal approvals needed for its merger with EarthLink Holdings Corp., a Georgia-based company.

Both companies plan to hold a special meeting about the deal with shareholders later this month. The all-stock deal, which includes the assumption of debt, is expected to close sometime in the first quarter.

RELATED CONTENT

Windstream begins moving into downtown facility

Windstream, EarthLink merging in $1.1B deal

In a federal filing last year, Windstream said that it would seek $125 million in annual synergies and tax benefits in three years after the deal closes.

"We haven’t finalized the staffing plans for the combined company," David Avery, a Windstream spokesperson, said in an email. "As we said earlier, Rochester will continue to be a key work location for Windstream following the close of the merger."

About four years ago Windstream moved into the old structural bones of the Seneca Building after it paid $2.3 billion to acquire Perinton’s PAETEC Holding Corp. in 2011. The network communications provider employs roughly 600 people in the Rochester area, with about half of them at the downtown site, and about 12,000 overall.

Meanwhile, EarthLink moved into a 80,000-square-foot space at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Alexander Street about five years ago.

At one point, it employed roughly 550 people in the Rochester area, although layoffs in recent years have eaten away at the number. It moved into the local market after acquiring One Communications, which was headquartered in Rochester, in 2010.

Avery said Windstream did eliminate 164 positions across its blueprint in a move last month unrelated to the merger. Five of those cuts came to workers in the Rochester area.

"The actions are part of our ongoing efforts to efficiently manage the business and to align resources to current work demands and opportunities," he wrote. "We have made great strides repositioning Windstream to better serve our customers. We have transformed our network in terms of both reliability and capability and are poised to make significant progress in 2017 across all of our business units, particularly with the addition of EarthLink."

TCLAUSEN@Gannett.com