Verizon Reportedly Plans Major Job Cuts As New CEO Pushes Aggressive Turnaround

(RTTNews) - Verizon Communications is preparing to make significant layoffs as early as next week, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.

Under new CEO Dan Schulman, who took over last month, the company may lay off between 10,000 and 15,000 employees. By the end of 2024, Verizon employed just under 100,000 people.

It is anticipated that unionized employees, including those employed by a few company-owned retail establishments, will not be affected by the layoffs.

After Verizon reported losing mobile subscribers for three straight quarters, lagging behind competitors in both customer growth and stock performance, Schulman is promoting a bold turnaround strategy.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon also intends to turn roughly 200 of its own stores into franchises. Hans Vestberg was replaced by Schulman, the former CEO of PayPal, following persistent deterioration in Verizon's core wireless business.

Since assuming leadership, he has stressed the necessity of "aggressively transforming" Verizon's cost structure and culture, stating that the organization needs to become "simpler, leaner, and scrappier."

Additionally, he has rejected price increases as a growth strategy, claiming that Verizon cannot depend on them without growing its subscriber base.

As Verizon attempts to regain momentum in a fiercely competitive telecom market, the planned cuts represent one of the biggest restructuring steps to date.