Verizon is set to lay off over 13,000 workers in the coming weeks as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring initiative.

"Today, we will begin reducing our workforce by more than 13,000 employees across the organization, and significantly reduce our outsourced and other outside labor expenses," newly appointed CEO Dan Schulman writes in a memo to employees that it also published online. "Every part of the company will experience some level of change."

Verizon had just over 100,000 employees as of Sept. 30, meaning the layoff will reduce the headcount by 13%.

Schulman says that the company's current costs and structure limit its ability to invest in its "customer value proposition." He also argues that complexity and friction within the organization were slowing it down and frustrating customers. In the last quarter alone, the company lost 7,000 postpaid customers, while rivals T-Mobile and AT&T made significant gains.

Verizon says it set up a $20 million fund focused on "skill development, digital training, and job placement" for the people it's laying off. It touted the fact that it's "the first company to set up a fund to specifically focus on the opportunities and necessary skill sets as we enter the age of AI," which is...an interesting way to spin things.

Those impacted in the US will be notified today, while those in other regions will be notified in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Original Story (11/14):

Verizon could soon be the latest tech company to announce a mass layoff. The carrier will cut around 15,000 jobs next week, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The news arrives amid stiff competition for Verizon; it lost 7,000 postpaid customers in the last quarter, while T-Mobile added 1 million and AT&T gained 405,000.

The report also arrives just over a month after Dan Schulman was appointed as the new CEO. The former PayPal CEO had served on Verizon's board for seven years before taking over as the chief executive in early October.

"Verizon is at a critical juncture," Schulman said at the time. "We are going to maximize our value propositions, reduce our cost to serve, and optimize our capital allocation to delight our customers, and deliver sustainable long-term growth for our shareholders."

Verizon had about 100,000 employees in February, and cutting 15,000 would mark the largest job reduction in the company's history, according to WSJ.

While most of the job cuts will come through layoffs, others will result from franchising stores. Around 180–200 stores will be franchised, meaning people working there will no longer be on Verizon's payroll.

With the move, Verizon joins the long list of tech companies trimming their workforces significantly this year. Intel announced a reduction of 15% of its workforce in July, and Amazon just cut 14,000 jobs last month. While expense management and restructuring have been cited as reasons by Verizon and Intel, Amazon has pinned the blame on employee culture.

By: DocMemory
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