CenturyLink recently announced they’re laying off 8 percent of its workforce by the end of the year.

According to The News-Star, CenturyLink attributes this necessary reduction to declining revenues in landline telephone services.

C.E.O. Glen Post explained that structural changes prove necessary to suit a changing society, increase efficiency, reduce expenses and ultimately raise profits.

A majority of the layoffs will stem from voluntary employees or those close to retirement.

The Fortune 200 telecommunications company reigns as the largest headquartered enterprise in Louisiana.

According to 2015 employment figures, CenturyLink leads in employment with approximately 2,600 employees statewide as they also establish further job opportunities in other fields.

Unemployment of any scale simultaneously coincides with the community’s economic state, affecting not just other businesses, but families and students as well.

“One company has a measurable impact on the state’s economy in terms of about a quarter of 1 percent of the total state gross domestic product,” said Dr. Robert Eisenstadt, an economics analyst professor.

Eisenstadt estimated that CenturyLink will contribute $6.5 billion over five years to the state’s economic fortune of roughly $225 billion.

An overwhelming amount of this contribution originates from Northeast Louisiana as prosperity “over the last several years has been tied to the success and expansion of CenturyLink in the area.”

Consequently, the College of Business and Social Sciences takes pride in its mutually beneficial relationship due to the company’s preference in hiring prospective graduates.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity not just financially, but mentally to grow as a better human being,” said James Skipper, a senior management and risk management & insurance major who works as an internal engineer at CenturyLink.

Though people might worry about less job opportunities available, Eisenstadt said  that even though local employment remains questionable, such workforce reductions occur regularly in the expansion and contraction of business operations.

As a whole, CenturyLink continues to grow despite of recent drawbacks.

“If you want to pursue a career at CenturyLink, [just] ‘do it,” Skipper said.