Verizon Eyes Layoff That May Cut 15,000 Jobs

Sources told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that in the name of reducing costs, Verizon Communications plans to cut about 15,000 jobs within the coming week.

According to the Thursday (Nov. 13) report, this would be the largest workforce reduction in the telecommunications giant’s history.

In addition, 200 Verizon retail stores will be transitioned into franchised operations, sources said. This restructuring would remove the employees working at those locations from Verizon’s payroll. According to securities findings, as of February, Verizon had approximately 100,000 employees.

As PYMNTS reported, the company appointed Dan Schulman as its CEO last month. Schulman, who previously held CEO roles at PayPal and Virgin Mobile USA, took over at Verizon as competition in the wireless and home internet markets continues to intensify.

The largest U.S. telecommunications provider by subscriber base, Verizon is trying to offset the loss of postpaid phone subscribers for three consecutive quarters and a net loss of 7,000 postpaid phone connections in the latest quarter, WSJ said.

Despite customer retention efforts, such as offering price-lock guarantees, competitors like AT&T and T-Mobile have continued to gain ground, the report said.

Pledging to cut costs and exit unprofitable legacy businesses aggressively, Schulman reportedly said in a call discussing the company’s third-quarter results, “We have a tremendous amount of opportunity to be more efficient, to be scrappier. Cost reductions will be a way of life for us here.”

Verizon is not the only major company that’s downsizing to adapt to economic and technological shifts. As PYMNTS recently reported, Amazon has started cutting 30,000 jobs, UPS is rolling out buyouts and layoffs affecting 34,000 drivers and warehouse workers, and Target is eliminating 1,800 corporate jobs.

The WSJ report quoted analysts from Morgan Stanley as saying that improvements for Verizon’s operational and financial performance are “possible, if not probable,” if the company maintains a rational market approach. It’s going to take some time, though.