Verizon Communications intends to slash about 15,000 jobs, or 15% of its workforce, in the coming week in its largest round of layoffs, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company has battled subscriber losses, rising operational costs and competition in the wireless and Internet markets.
Verizon has 100,000 employees, making it the 12th-biggest telecom by employee ranking. The company’s operations headquarters are in Basking Ridge. It is not known yet how many employees in New Jersey will lose their jobs. Verizon does not keep a static dataset of employees by state.
Some recent reports have also said the New York City-based company, which had revenue of $134.8 billion in 2024, plans to convert its retail stores to franchises.
Sources told the Journal that the job reductions are part of an extensive cost-reduction effort as the company faces greater competition in the wireless and home internet markets, sources told the WSJ. Verizon has lost postpaid phone subscribers for three straight quarters as competitors continue to lure customers away. The company, like its rivals, is also losing customers who are cutting the cord on cable service and moving to other platforms.
Newly installed Chief Executive Officer Daniel Schulman, who took over Verizon in October, has said he will make deep cost reductions to try and reverse customer losses and wants to make Verizon a more nimble company.
Verizon is just the latest large company to announce layoffs this year. Amazon recently said it was eliminating about 14,000 corporate roles to simplify operations and respond more quickly to technological change. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) said earlier this month that it will trim thousands of jobs in the fourth quarter as it moves toward faster-growing areas such as AI consulting and software. The United Parcel Service (UPS) said in its third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 28 that it has slashed about 34,000 jobs as part of a broad cost-cutting effort to boost profits.
Verizon shares were little changed on Nov. 14. Its stock has gained 2.63% to $41.03 year to date. Verizon has a market cap of $173 billion, making it the fifth-largest telecom company by market cap.
