Sprint to lay off 161 of Eastside employees

SEATTLE -- Pink slips went out to 161 employees of Sprint Friday at their offices in Bellevue and Kirkland.

The Seattle Times reports the company is laying off the workers as part of its $3.5 billion purchase of wireless network operator Clearwire.

The Overland Park, Kansas-based telecommunications company completed the purchase in July.

Sprint says it's in the process of eliminating about 75 percent of Clearwire's work force, but it's unclear how many workers that is.

Some Clearwire employees will keep their jobs and will likely work out of Bellevue and Herndon, Virginia.