Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Austin Inc. Column.

Dec. 3--SBC WIELDS ITS AX: SBC Communications Inc. started dismantling its Austin-based Prodigy operations on Friday, laying off 130 regular employees and 40 contract workers. The cuts amount to nearly one-third of the work force at Prodigy, the Internet service provider SBC gained control of last month.

(Before the acquisition, SBC already owned 42 percent of Prodigy.)

The layoffs had been expected because of SBC's deal last month with Internet giant Yahoo Inc., which will become SBC's key partner for delivering Internet service to customers. Starting in mid-2002, Yahoo will become the Internet entryway for customers who receive their Internet access through …