ATLANTA, Dec. 16 -- BellSouth announced Thursday it will cut 1500 management jobs, or 2.4 percent of its total work force, because of competition from cable providers. Most of the reductions are expected to be in the form of voluntary severance packages and to be completed by April 30, the company said. "Reducing work force is the toughest business decision a company has to make," CEO Duane Ackerman said in a statement. "We have worked hard to avoid it, but many companies our size and particularly our competitors operate with lower overhead and fewer management layers." The anticipated benefit of the work force reductions is expected to be in the range of $175 million annually, the company said in a related filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cuts amount to 2.4 percent of BellSouth's 63,349 total employees that it ended the third quarter with and 7 percent of its 21,267 management employees. For more information, visit: www.bellsouth.com