Lumos lays off workers in Waynesboro

STAUNTON — More Waynesboro workers were on the chopping block last week, this time with Lumos Networks.

According to James Nester, spokesman for Lumos, a total of 31 employees were let go — 16 in West Virginia and the rest in Waynesboro.

"We have products that are growing in the business and we are reducing the focus in resale business," he said. "This reflects the focus on our data segment."

Shortly after the layoffs, Lumos announced that its 115 mile fiber route between Richmond and Ashburn, is now operational for high-speed, low latency connectivity, according to a release. This brand new route will provide both long-haul networking between these two key cities and Metro/Access rings to offer services to the company's key enterprise, data center and carrier customers.

According to Nester, the layoffs and the new fiber route are not exclusively linked.

The layoffs come in the wake of the news of nTelos laying off 48 corporate employees. nTelos said it needed to "streamline and right size the organization," back in January.

Waynesboro-based Lumos Networks, which split from nTelos in 2011, is a provider in the Mid-Atlantic region serving carrier, business and residential customers over a dense-fiber network offering data, voice and IP services. Lumos is one of the top 10 employers in Waynesboro.

The company serves Virginia, West Virginia and portions of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio and Maryland.

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