Globalstar cuts 2 VPs, additional employees

(AP) — Globalstar Inc., a provider of mobile satellite communications, said Friday it has eliminated the jobs of two senior vice presidents and some other employees.

Globalstar did not specify in a news release how many additional workers were affected by the cuts, and company spokesman Dean Hirasawa declined to offer details.

The two executives who are being let go immediately are Steven Bell, senior vice president of North American and European sales operations, and Robert Miller, senior vice president of engineering and ground operations.

The Milpitas company employs about 350 people, primarily in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and western Europe, Hirasawa said.

Globalstar said the cuts as part of a restructuring to "flatten the firm's organizational structure, improve the company's decision-making efficiencies and reduce costs."

CEO Peter Dalton said the moves will improve management accountability as the company prepares to introduce new consumer products and expand its network of communications satellites beginning this summer.

Globalstar, with more than 375,000 subscribers, provides mobile voice and data services to clients such as businesses, governments and consumers.

Its shares were unchanged at 94 cents in afternoon trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of 19 cents to $2.00.