Verizon layoffs: US telco to cut 13,000 jobs in largest single purge; to shrink costs, restructure

U.S. wireless giant Verizon has announced more than 13,000 job cuts in what will be the company’s biggest single round of layoffs, as part of a broad effort to streamline operations and reduce costs. The decision follows mounting market pressures and slowing growth in new wireless subscribers amid increased competition in the sector.

In addition to the layoffs, Verizon will convert 179 corporate-owned retail outlets into franchised stores and shut down one location. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expects to take a severance charge of between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter. More than 80% of affected staff are expected to exit next month. Verizon shares fell 1% on Thursday following the announcement.

CEO Dan Schulman told employees in a company memo that the workforce reduction would be accompanied by cuts to outsourced services and external labor expenses. “Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition,” Schulman wrote in a note to employees seen by Reuters. “We must simplify our operations to address the complexity and friction that slow us down and frustrate our customers.”

Retail shift and workforce transition plans

A spokesperson confirmed the move, calling it “an opportunity for Verizon to reset, restructure and realign our priorities on ways that will help us regain our leadership as a communications provider.”

Reuters and other outlets had reported earlier that the company was planning job cuts totaling around 15,000, primarily within the U.S. workforce.

Schulman also announced the creation of a $20 million career transition fund to support displaced employees, stating it would help workers build “the opportunities and necessary skill sets as we enter the age of AI.” The company stressed that the layoffs were not tied to its use of artificial intelligence.

Competition intensifies in US wireless market

Verizon is contending with fierce competition from legacy rivals and cable providers that have entered the wireless market with lower-priced offerings. Schulman, who joined the company as CEO in October from PayPal and has served on Verizon’s board since 2018, faces an industry environment in which AT&T and T-Mobile have ramped up promotions around new iPhone launches, offering aggressive discounts and trade-in deals.

The carrier added just 44,000 monthly bill-paying wireless subscribers in the third quarter, trailing AT&T, while T-Mobile led the industry with more than 1 million net additions.

Verizon had roughly 100,000 employees in the United States at the end of 2024, including about 70,000 non-union workers. The company has already shed nearly 20,000 jobs over the past three years as part of earlier restructuring efforts.

In recent years, Verizon has also made major strategic investments, including spending $52 billion in a 2021 auction to secure key midband spectrum for expanding its 5G network.

The company followed that with a $20 billion deal to purchase Frontier Communications last year and a $6 billion acquisition of TracFone Wireless, the prepaid mobile operator.

(With inputs from Reuters)