Sprint this morning took drastic action to maintain its performance and said it would cut 8,000 jobs, most of which will be eliminated quickly and disappear by the end of March. The carrier describes the layoffs as reducing labor costs in a difficult economy and estimates it will save $1.2 billion per year from the efforts. Just over 10 percent of the jobs are those from a voluntary exit program started last year.

The company hopes to mitigate the impact of the cuts by claiming that the company will slash “less” positions that deal directly with customers than those behind the scenes. It also asserts that the cuts will apply to all levels of staff but also notes that it’s freezing salaries this year as it did in 2008.

Sprint has been routinely struggling to compete against larger rivals AT&T and Verizon and has continued to lose subscribers for multiple past quarters that have also included heavy losses. The provider has had to mend a poor reputation for customer service and has yet to have a true flagship smartphone like AT&T’s iPhone or Verizon’s BlackBerry Storm, though many believe the Palm Pre may help the company make a turnaround.