OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) _ Embarq Corporation is asking employees for 200 volunteers to resign, or it will take other job cutting measures.

Overland Park based Embarq is the nation's fourth largest traditional telephone company.

Most of the cuts are expected in the Kansas City area, where the
company employs about 4,500 people. Embarq has about 20,000 employees company-wide.

A spokesman says the company has added 300 employees since Embarq spun off from Sprint Nextel last year.

Embarq serves nearly seven million phone lines in 18 states.

The move comes a day after Embarq reported that annual profits declined eleven percent, as it continued to lose telephone access lines to cable and wireless competitors.