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HOUSTON -- The job cuts stemming from Continental Airlines merger with United Airlines are about to hit downtown Houston.

Continental has notified state regulators that it plans to lay off about 500 employees at its Houston headquarters. 

The airline plans to reduce its workforce in two downtown skyscrapers, at 1600 Smith and at 600 Jefferson.  The layoffs will be permanent, the airline says, but it says the offices at those two locations are not being closed in their entirety.

Approximately 500 employees will be separated from employment between April 1, 2011, and June 30, 2011 as a result of this action, the airline wrote in a notice to the Texas Workforce Commission.

The airline sent the letter bearing this notice to Austin last week, but it went public on Monday morning via social media websites. Notices like these are required under federal law when major employers plan to lay off large numbers of employees.

The primary layoff targets are administrative positions and positions in management. Continental said pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and gate agents jobs are safe, in large part because Houston will still be a major hub for the airline.

It could have been larger. And, let's be real. It could have been much worse. They could have just taken a machete approach to this when, in fact, I think they've taken a scalpel and they've carved out the jobs that are naturally redundant in an acquisition like this, said Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan.

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