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Verizon's 5G aspirations lead to over 10,000 voluntary resignations
- Approximately 10,400 Verizon employees voluntarily resigned from the company.
- As many as 44,000 Verizon employees were offered exit packages.
- Verizon announced a four-year, $10 billion cost-cutting program last year.
Even though Verizon’s eyes are set on its 5G-filled future, not all of its employees will get to see that future. Verizon announced approximately 10,400 of its employees voluntarily resigned as part of its “realigned organization structure.”
According to a prepared statement from Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, the changes were “well-planned and anticipated.” Vestberg also insinuated that customers will not see any service interruption as a result of the resignations.
The 10,400 resignations represent 6.8 percent of Verizon’s workforce, which totaled 152,300 employees at the end of third quarter 2018. As many as 44,000 Verizon employees were offered exit packages.
Those that resigned did so through Verizon’s Voluntary Separation Program. The program offers up to 60 weeks’ salary, bonus, and benefits, depending on how long an employee worked for. Employees that voluntarily resigned were notified today of their last day on payroll and whether they were accepted into the program.
Based on “the needs of the business,” employees’ last day on payroll could be anywhere from the end of 2018 to the end of March 2019 or June 2019.
The realignment is a four-year, $10 billion cost-cutting program that also includes scaled-back media and advertising ambitions. Verizon shuttered its struggling Go90 digital media app in July partially due to a lack of viewership and advertiser deals.
The cost-cutting program should help Verizon retool for its 5G technology. Verizon announced it will release a Samsung 5G smartphone in the first half of 2019 and a 5G-capable hotspot at some point next year. The hotspot will feature the Snapdragon 855 chip and Snapdragon X50 5G modem.