As part of the $39 million dollar merger agreement between Virgin Mobile USA and Helio back in June, Helio is contractually obligated to cut down their costs by around 70 percent.

According to Virgin Mobile USA’s CEO, Dan Schulman, such reductions are already well underway. During last night’s VMUSA Q2 2008 earnings conference call, he announced that over two-thirds of the staff at Helio House had been let go, with nearly all of the corporate-owned stores and kiosks getting the shutters-and-plywood makeover. Our best to everyone involved.

On the fruition of the partnership, Schulman added: “Our integration teams are working hard behind the scenes to put together compelling products and services, and we are excited about the prospect of launching differentiated plans, handsets and services over the next several quarters.”

With Q3 just about half-way over and the deal still not completely finalized, anyone still holding their breath for an Ocean 2 will probably be a bit blue in the face until some time in 2009.

[Via mocoNews]