CenturyLink, which is in the process of merging with Quest, said today that its Wake Forest office will remain a regional headquarters for the combined companies.
The office will be the company's eastern region headquarters after the merger is complete.
Todd Schafer will become eastern region president. Schafer is currently CenturyLink’s Mid-Atlantic region president.
Wake Forest will be one of six regional headquarters within the combined company’s 37-state service area. The other headquarters cities are Denver, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Seattle and Orlando.
The company will be based in CenturyLink's headquarters in Monroe, La.
Quest and CenturyLink are the country's third and fifth-largest phone companies, respectively.
Qwest had 30,138 employees at the end of last year; CenturyTel had about 20,000.
The deal could lead to job cuts at the companies, which are already shedding positions.
CenturyTel employs more than 400 people at its Wake Forest office and more than 2,300 in the state.
The company expanded in this market last year when it bought Embarq, one of the state's largest phone companies.
The number of employees in Wake Forest will be determined by the region president, Schafer, as he designs the organization, said Jamie Averette Mitchell, a CenturyLink spokeswoman.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or