Verizon to cut over 13K jobs as it seeks to cut costs under new CEO

Verizon Communications is planning to cut up to 13,000 jobs this month as new Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman launches an aggressive cost-cutting drive to make the company leaner. 

The cuts, which were previously reported to be up to 15,000, were confirmed on Thursday and will primarily impact non-unionized positions across the organization, the company stated. 

"As I shared at our most recent all-employee meeting, we need to change and evolve as a company to meet the needs of our customers and expand our market leadership. Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition. We must reorient our entire company around delivering for and delighting our customers," Schulman said in a note to employees.

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However, the cuts are in line with Schulman's plans to keep the company competitive in the market. He told investors during an earnings call at the end of October that the company is reinventing how it operates "to make Verizon more agile and efficient." 

The layoffs are expected to begin next week. (Kena Betancur/VIEWpress)

"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 at the time. "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."

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Schulman, the former PayPal CEO, was tapped in October to help the telecommunications giant rebound from sluggish customer growth and mounting competition from AT&T and T-Mobile. His primary goal is to drive a profitable expansion of Verizon’s customer base across both its wireless and broadband businesses.

The cuts come after new CEO Dan Schulman. (Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images)

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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." 

"Every year, it gets harder to grow as we lap past price increases and experience higher churn. This cannot continue, and there is no question that meaningful change is needed," he said.

Dan Schulman has served on Verizon's board for seven years. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Shifting to a customer-first culture will simultaneously drive a much more efficient cost structure that will support the company's incremental investments to enhance customer experience, Schulman told investors. He also rejected the premise that focusing on customer satisfaction would hurt profit margins. 

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"I think this industry and clearly, Verizon are only scratching the surface of increased bottom line performance," he added. 

Wells Fargo analysts said in an October research note that competition among the top wireless carriers – Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile – is intensifying as subscriber growth slows. 

To stay competitive, the analysts said companies are rolling out aggressive promotions, including free phone offers to attract new customers. 

The analysts projected that Verizon will face the steepest challenge in increasing its number of postpaid phone customers in 2025, while AT&T and T-Mobile appear more likely to meet their targets.

This story has been updated to reflect the confirmation of the job cuts by the company.