Embarq Corp., the nation’s fourth-largest traditional telephone company, asked employees Friday for 200 volunteers to resign or it will take other job-cutting measures.

Most of the cuts are expected in the Kansas City area, where the company employs about 4,500. Overland Park-based Embarq has about 20,000 employees companywide.

Embarq spokesman Charles Fleckenstein noted that the company had added 300 employees since Embarq spun off from Sprint Nextel Corp. last year.

The move comes a day after Embarq reported that annual profits dipped 11 percent to $784 million as it has continued to lose telephone access lines to cable and wireless competitors.