Verizon Plans 15,000 Job Cuts Under New CEO Dan Schulman

Verizon is preparing to cut about 15,000 jobs in the United States, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan. The reduction is one of the first major steps taken by new CEO Dan Schulman, who took charge in October and is reviewing how the company is organized.

The cuts are expected to start next week and would remove roughly 15% of Verizon’s U.S. staff. A large portion involves management roles, which the company plans to shrink by more than 20%. Verizon is also planning to shift around 180 company-run retail stores to franchise operators, the person said.

Schulman joined Verizon after leading PayPal. He steps into the role at a time when the wireless market has slowed and competition has intensified. AT&T and T-Mobile have been offering heavy discounts on new phones, drawing in many customers during recent device launches.

In the July–September quarter, Verizon added 44,000 postpaid phone lines, far fewer than its two main competitors. T-Mobile posted more than 1 million additions in the same period. Cable companies such as Comcast and Charter have also been gaining users by bundling mobile service with home internet, creating more pressure on Verizon’s business.

Verizon has been trimming its workforce gradually over the past few years. By the end of 2024, the company had around 100,000 employees, down from roughly 120,000 earlier in the decade. A voluntary exit program last year resulted in about 4,800 departures, and a similar program in 2018 led to more than 10,000 employees leaving.

Schulman has said publicly that Verizon needs to simplify its structure and reduce operating costs. He has also stated that relying on repeated price increases is not a long-term approach, and that the company needs to focus more on keeping existing users and improving service.

In recent years, Verizon has made several large financial commitments. The company spent $52 billion in 2021 to secure midband wireless spectrum for its 5G network. It also reached a $20 billion deal for Frontier Communications’ fiber assets and paid $6 billion to acquire TracFone Wireless to expand its prepaid business.

Some people who follow the industry say the company may need to offer more generous phone upgrades or trade-in deals to keep users from switching carriers. Whether the planned cost reductions will give Verizon enough room to support those offers is still uncertain.

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