In domestic spending the reductions would total about $12 billion, including savings in Medicare.

The reduction in payments to nursing homes and home care providers would total $450 million annually once they are fully phased in, according to the same analysis.

The reductions over that period would total $24 billion or more.

The company, a struggling independent oilfield services concern, said that the one-time reduction totaled about $60 million.

The actual proposed reduction in full-time workers totals only 16,400.

When combined with an earlier cut of 10 percent in cable rates, the reduction totals 17 percent from a base rate in September 1992.

For those who earn more, the cuts are smaller; for example, the reduction totals 9 percent for families whose income is over $150,000.

But a Merrill official speaking on condition of anonymity said the reductions would total about 3,000, including as many as 1,000 layoffs.

He recalled that in 1986, when traffic fell because of terrorist attacks, the overall reduction by the end of that year totaled only 1.7 percent.

The company said today that the reductions totaled about $10 million a year.