CenturyTel has merged with Embarq, and an undisclosed number of jobs will be eliminated before the end of 2009.

The new firm is called CenturyLink, and employs 20,000 employees in 33 states. It will be headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. CenturyTel purchased Embarq for $11.6 billion.

Fewer than 30 jobs will be cut in July, but further, larger rounds of layoffs are expected.

Overland Park, Kansas-based Embarq Corporation is the fourth largest local exchange carrier in the United States, and the largest independent local provider, serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers. It was formerly the local telephone division of Sprint.

Founded in 1930, CenturyTel is a telecommunications firm headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. A member of the S&P 500 index, the company primarily operates as a local exchange carrier and Internet service provider in rural markets in 26 states, and is the eighth-largest local exchange carrier in the US in terms of lines served.