Verizon Announces Historic Layoffs Amid Customer Retention Struggles
Verizon Communications (VZ) plans to cut 15,000 jobs, marking the largest workforce reduction in the company's history. The layoffs, reported by The Wall Street Journal, aim to slash costs as the wireless carrier battles subscriber losses and intensified competition. Approximately 200 company-owned stores will transition to franchises, removing employees from Verizon's payroll.
The restructuring follows three consecutive quarters of postpaid phone customer defections to rivals AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (TMUS). A price-lock promotion introduced in April failed to stem the bleeding, with Verizon unexpectedly losing 7,000 net postpaid customers last quarter against analyst projections of 19,000 gains.
New CEO Daniel Schulman, former PayPal (PYPL) and Virgin Mobile USA executive, has pledged aggressive cost-cutting measures. His strategy focuses on eliminating unprofitable business segments and operational streamlining, though details remain undisclosed.
