Qwest Sales VP Leaving The Company

The investigation of the sales managers played no role in the departure of Jeffrey Pearl, vice president of growth markets, said Qwest spokeswoman Kate Varden.

His exit and those of several dozen midlevel sales managers were aimed at streamlining sales divisions that cater to businesses, she said. The revamping is causing Qwest to cut "fewer than 100" jobs from its business markets group, which employs about 5,500, she said.

Pearl did not return phone messages seeking comment.

Pearl had overseen some salespeople who received higher commissions after inflating values for sales they made. An ongoing inquiry into the sales resulted in the dismissals of several employees, including five sales managers, in March.

Qwest has maintained the deals were confined to an internal sales-tracking system and did not affect its financial reports. The Denver-based phone company has sought repayment of the inflated commissions.

Gregg Napoli, a former manager in Qwest's Cleveland office, sued the company in February alleging that he lost his job after he relayed concerns about the inflation practices to Qwest executives.