Verizon announced plans to cut at least 15,000 jobs and convert 180 company-owned stores into franchises, marking the largest downsizing in the telecom giant's history.
The move comes as the company faces mounting competition from rivals like AT&T, T-Mobile, and cable providers such as Comcast and Charter.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg, the layoffs could begin as soon as next week, affecting roughly 15% of Verizon's U.S. workforce.
Converting stores into franchises will remove additional employees from the company's payroll, potentially raising total job cuts to 20,000. Non-union management positions are expected to decline by over 20%.
Verizon CEO Dan Schulman, who joined the company in October after leading PayPal, said last month, "We will be a simpler, leaner and scrappier business."
He emphasized the need for "cost transformation" and restructuring the company's expense base to remain competitive in a crowded market.
The wireless carrier has struggled to attract new subscribers, adding just 44,000 monthly bill-paying wireless customers in the third quarter.
By contrast, T-Mobile gained more than 1 million new subscribers. Cable operators bundling mobile plans with internet service have intensified the pressure, forcing Verizon to rethink its strategy.
Verizon cuts 15,000 jobs!
— Amanda Goodall (@thejobchick) November 13, 2025
It’s all about reducing cost because they lost a chunky amount of customers.
Might this be the first of many? After all… who will buy products when they are laid off… the debt levels are already unhealthy.
The vicious cycle begins.
I don’t do… pic.twitter.com/ysnNQKsNBx
Verizon Workforce Falls to 100K After Layoffs
Analysts noted that Verizon's high prices have slowed growth. "Our financial growth has relied too heavily on price increases. A strategy that depends on price without subscriber growth is not sustainable," Schulman said.
Verizon has already undergone several rounds of layoffs over the past few years. At the end of 2024, the company employed about 100,000 people in the US, down nearly 20,000 from previous years, USA Today reported.
Past reductions included voluntary exit programs and a $2 billion charge related to workforce cuts.
Industry experts say the company's efforts aim to free up funds to retain customers, including subsidizing expensive handsets.
Craig Moffett, senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, remarked, "The obvious question was how Verizon planned to pay for that. Now we know. What we don't know is whether these cost reductions will offset the higher costs of retaining customers."
Verizon's stock rose about 1.5% following the announcement, despite shares lagging the broader market over the past three years.
The company has invested heavily in its network, including $52 billion for midband 5G spectrum in 2021 and $20 billion to acquire Frontier Communications.
Originally published on vcpost.com
