Verizon will also shift roughly 200 stores to franchise operations, according to unnamed sources
In sum – what to know:
Workforce reset – Verizon will cut 15,000 jobs and shift roughly 200 stores to franchise operations, marking the company’s largest single-round restructuring as it pushes for leaner, more efficient operations.
Competitive pressure and retention – the overhaul comes amid a 7,000 net postpaid phone subscriber loss and T-Mobile’s strongest Q3 in a decade, driving new CEO Dan Schulman to prioritize loyalty, retention, and a “scrappier” operating model.
Verizon is reportedly cutting approximately 15,000 jobs, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive — the largest single-round reduction in the company’s history. The move is part of an aggressive cost-cutting strategy as the carrier faces intensifying competition across both wireless and home internet markets.
Sources also indicate that the carrier plans to transition roughly 200 company-owned stores to franchised operations, shifting those employees off its payroll.
The telco’s latest quarterly earnings showed steady wireless service revenue and ongoing fiber expansion, but also a 7,000 net postpaid phone subscriber loss — a sharp reversal from the 18,000 adds recorded a year ago. By contrast, T-Mobile US added 1 million postpaid phone customers during the same quarter, its strongest Q3 in more than a decade.
New CEO Dan Schulman acknowledged Verizon’s performance challenges and outlined a transformation agenda focused on loyalty and retention. “When I look at our performance objectively, Verizon is clearly falling short of our potential,” he said on the earnings call. “Our primary objective is to build loyalty and drive significant improvements in retention … Verizon will no longer be the hunting ground for competitors looking to gain share. We are reinventing how we operate to make Verizon more agile and efficient.”
Schulman also foreshadowed the impending cuts: “Verizon is at a critical inflection point. 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.”
Together, the job cuts and retail restructuring point to a deeper reset as Schulman moves quickly to reshape Verizon’s cost structure and stabilize subscriber performance in a brutally competitive market.
The company had about 100,000 employees as of February, according to filings. The layoffs are expected to begin in the coming week, according to sources close to the matter.