Picking up on this old thread - I was working for GTE when they decided to divest themselves of (almost)everything but the Utility end of the business.
Automatic Electric was split into component parts and sold off.
Telephone Station Manufacturing was sold to Palco (They were down South - I think Alabama), CO manufacturing went to AT&T. There was originally a joint venture called AGCS (ATT/GTE Comm. Systems) out in Phoenix. The first thing ATT did was close down manufacturing of any new GTD-5 COs. The GTD-5 offered 8 way encryption as an option while the 5ESS and the DMS only offered 2 way. Guess who had been getting all the government contracts?
PBX manufacturing was offered to Siemens originally but they balked at GTEs terms - All employees had to be guaranteed one years employment. In the end Fujitsu bought the PBX manufacturing. A year and a day later the blood letting came.
Fujitsu closed down all the GTE product line (4600, Omni, etc) and pushed their own products. They went out of business here in the US about 5 years ago.
I will say that in 40 years of working the industry GTE was the best.

"Where are we going and why are we in this hand basket?"