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Touch America lays off 216. Only about 150 employees left.

Butte-based Touch America Holdings Inc. let go more than half its remaining work force Wednesday afternoon, according to employees at the troubled company.

By Rob Chaney – Missoulian Tracker

Workers told the Missoulian State Bureau that 216 people, including 100 in Montana, were fired shortly after the close of stock trading Wednesday afternoon. The totals included 72 of the 171 workers in Butte, 23 of the 43 in Missoula, and five more among the offices in Billings, Bozeman and Helena. The company has about 150 employees left.

Touch America’s stock closed at 14 cents Wednesday, up 1 cent from Tuesday on a volume of 241,400 shares. Touch America has been dropped from the New York Stock Exchange and was removed from the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board exchange in late May.

Reached in Missoula, Gov. Judy Martz said Montana was experiencing a delayed version of other states’ high-tech industry woes.

"My heart just aches for the people in Montana who are laid off," Martz said. "I know probably three-quarters of the folks in Butte that were laid off and probably the same amount in the other towns too. It just seems like Butte keeps taking one hit after another."

Company spokeswoman Linda McGillen said none of the laid-off employees will receive severance pay, but they will retain their health insurance through the end of month.

-Missoulian State Bureau reporter Charles Johnson and the Associated Press contributed to this story

http://missoulian.com/articles/2003/06/18/mtracker/news/11tafires.txt

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