I joined South Central Bell in 1983 - one year before the divestiture of the original AT&T company.
The first "separations" from the company (by now we were BellSouth Telecommunications) that I recall was around the 1987 timeframe, and these separations continued throughout my 24 years with BellSouth and 6 years with the "New AT&T".
The telecommunications industry never figured out how to offer employees a secure future in the world of CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) and now, automation adds another layer of uncertainty to many industries.