Verizon, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, plans to cut approximately 15,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan under its new CEO. The layoffs will impact about 15% of its employees, making it the largest workforce reduction in the wireless carrier’s history. The cuts, following the appointment of former PayPal boss Dan Schulman as CEO in early October, are aimed at its non-union management ranks and are expected to affect more than 20% of that workforce, according to a source. Verizon also plans to transition around 180 corporate-owned retail stores into franchised operations, the source added.
Schulman, who has served on Verizon’s board for seven years, told analysts on the October call that the company’s financial growth has relied too heavily on price increases and that “a strategic approach that relies too much on price without subscriber growth is not a sustainable strategy.” He emphasized the need for meaningful change, noting that every year it gets harder to grow as they lap past price increases and experience higher churn.
“We will invest significantly across all elements of our marketing mix and customer experience to drive mobility and broadband growth, and we will fund these investments by aggressively reducing our entire cost base,” Schulman said, according to Fox Business. “We will be a simpler, leaner and scrappier business. This work is overdue and will be multi-year and an ongoing way of life for us.” The cuts are expected to begin as soon as next week.
Verizon had roughly 100,000 employees at the end of fiscal year 2024. Its shares rose about 1.4% on the news, with a gain of 8% compared with the S&P 500’s near-70% rise. The company is battling rising competition as subscriber growth slows and cautious consumers are unwilling to buy premium wireless plans, facing pressure from rivals AT&T and T-Mobile as the U.S. wireless market matures.
A Verizon spokesperson declined to comment.
