Verizon Wireless Joins With Bronx Borough President to Add to New York Metro Workforce

BRONX, NY — Verizon Wireless New York Metro Region President Charles Hand joined with Bronx Borough President Aldolfo Carriớn today to announce the creation of more than 200 new jobs in the Bronx and throughout the New York Metro area to help the company meet the growing demand for its wireless voice and data products and services.

The company, which has hired more than 300 customer-facing employees in New York Metro already this year, will join with the Borough President's office and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation to hold a job fair on October 6th to help fill immediate openings for retail sales and customer service professionals in the company's 104 NY Metro area Communications Stores. Verizon Wireless also is looking to add to its telesales and business-to-business sales teams.

"The appetite of New York area consumers and businesses for our exciting new wireless phones, voice services and broadband data services, like V CAST multimedia service for consumers and high-speed BroadbandAccess service for business, continues to fuel our need for intelligent and energetic employees," Hand said. "The Bronx is a national example of urban renewal with a vibrant workforce and we invite qualified Bronx residents to be part of our success story. Customer satisfaction is the number one priority at Verizon Wireless. We are looking for candidates with high standards, excellent communications skills and a passion for superior customer service."

Borough President Carrion said, "This partnership with Verizon Wireless is indicative of the optimism businesses have in the Bronx and another great example of the unprecedented economic development that has been taking place in our borough in recent years. Through the Bronx at Work initiative we are continuing to attract new business investment to the Bronx and connect residents to jobs in the borough, the City and the Region. We have made great strides in combating unemployment and this new supply of job opportunities — brought to you by our great friends at Verizon Wireless will further strengthen our growing job market. This is great news for our residents and the residents of our City."

"The Bronx has experienced the lowest unemployment rate in the last four years, and since the launch of the Bronx At Work program last year, over 20,000 Bronx residents have found jobs, he said. "With major corporations like Verizon Wireless looking to hire in the Bronx, that number will increase."

Carrión added, "It should serve as the new measure of how good economic development can and should be done. When we invest wisely in our communities we create opportunities for people to reap the benefits of a strong economy and give future generations more advantages to succeed in a competitive economy."

Among the new full and part-time employees being sought are English-Spanish speaking candidates to fill positions in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores located in areas with large Hispanic populations including The Bronx and Manhattan in New York City, and Secaucus, Jersey City and Union in Northern New Jersey.

"Offering Spanish-language services, including specially trained bilingual sales and service representatives, improves our ability to meet the needs of the area's Spanish-language population, " Hand said. "Our goal is to make all customers feel comfortable doing business with us and to help non-English-speaking customers get the best value from their Verizon Wireless products and services."

The job fair will be held Thursday, October 6, 2005, at The Workforce One Career Center at 358 East 149th Street. Interested candidates should call Workforce One at 718-960-3679 before 5 p.m. on October 5th to arrange an appointment. Walk-ins will not be accepted but candidates also may send resumes directly to Verizon Wireless via e-mail at nymjobs@verizonwireless.com, reference code BNY, or call 1-800-575-HIRE.

The company offers highly competitive salaries and benefits that include health care coverage that begins on the first day of employment, 401(k) dollar for dollar match up to 6% of salary, profit-sharing, tuition reimbursement for continuing education and long-term incentive plans. Employees also can take advantage of numerous opportunities for career advancement.

Job requirements include a high school diploma and one-to-two years of retail sales experience. A college degree is highly desirable.

Demand for Verizon Wireless services continued during the second quarter as the company added a record 1.9 million net new customers. Verizon Wireless now serves 47.4 million customers nationwide and is the nation's wireless leader in customer loyalty, based on customer retention and turnover rates announced publicly by the largest wireless providers.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 47.4 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.  

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