Verizon to cut 15,000 jobs in its largest layoff ever amid massive restructuring push

Verizon is bracing for one of the most dramatic shake-ups in its history. The company is preparing to cut roughly 15,000 jobs—its biggest layoff to date—as it tries to regain ground in a telecom market that has turned into a bruising fight for subscribers, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move signals a hard reset under new CEO Dan Schulman, who stepped into the role in early October and wasted no time setting a tougher direction for the 146-million-customer carrier.

The reductions, expected to begin as soon as next week, target non-union management roles and reflect a strategy shift years in the making. Verizon has watched competitors close in on its long-standing leads in wireless and home internet, with T-Mobile and AT&T pulling customers away through aggressive pricing and fast-growing fixed wireless offerings. Verizon’s response so far hasn’t been enough to stem subscriber losses, pushing Schulman to swing harder at cost-cutting and operational changes.

“Verizon Communications is planning to cut roughly 15,000 jobs, looking to reduce costs as it contends with increased competition for both wireless service and home internet customers,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

As recently as February, Verizon had about 100,000 employees—a number already trimmed from its 2023 headcount of 105,400. Over the last three years, nearly 20,000 jobs have already disappeared through buyouts and department reductions. The company launched a voluntary program in 2024 that cut 4,800 positions and carried a $2 billion financial hit. These new cuts will carve deeper into its management layer, affecting more than 20% of non-union leadership.

AI and automation continue shaping how telecom giants streamline workforces, though Verizon’s operating expenses have shown only a slight 1% improvement through the first nine months of 2025. Schulman has been clear since his first week: Verizon has to get “leaner and more focused.” Investors seem encouraged. Verizon shares rose about 1.4% Thursday morning, a small bump but a signal that Wall Street is hoping for better margins after years of flat stock performance.

The shake-up doesn’t end with layoffs. Verizon is preparing to convert around 200 corporate-owned stores into franchise locations, a move that shifts payroll responsibilities onto independent operators. The company already works with franchise partners like Wireless Zone, which runs more than 720 Verizon-branded stores. The strategy keeps Verizon’s retail footprint visible while trimming corporate overhead, though it puts store quality in the hands of franchise owners—an area where missteps can quickly erode customer trust.

The pressure behind these decisions has been building. In Q1 2025, Verizon lost 289,000 postpaid phone customers, more than double its losses from the same period a year earlier. Price increases meant to shore up revenue irritated users at a time of tighter household budgets, giving rivals an easy opening. On the home internet front, fixed wireless is reshaping competition. T-Mobile leads the category with nearly 7 million users and the highest satisfaction scores. Verizon follows with about 4.8 million, while AT&T’s Internet Air has crossed the one-million mark.

To claw back ground, Verizon launched a “5G Home Internet Lite” plan in October at $25 per month for rural areas, locking in prices for three years. The offer targets light streaming and browsing households and goes head-to-head with T-Mobile’s rural-focused plans and even low-end satellite options. But subscriber growth across U.S. wireless is tightening overall, setting up carriers for a tougher 2025 where promotions could squeeze profits even more.

The telecom sector has already been through its own version of belt-tightening. AT&T’s headcount has been cut in half since 2018. Charter faces its own wireless challenges as customers flock to mobile alternatives. Public comments across X show a mix of frustration, resignation, and economic analysis, with some users pointing to policy shifts and others to the growing influence of automation across all service industries.

Employees affected by Verizon’s cuts are expected to receive severance and outplacement support, though details remain under wraps. From an investor perspective, the company’s market cap sits at $164 billion, supported by 2024 revenue of $134.8 billion. The question now is whether Schulman’s push can restore momentum for a company that once set the pace for the entire sector.

Verizon could lean further into fiber expansion—an area where its interest in a Frontier acquisition keeps resurfacing—or push harder into AI-driven service operations in a bid to stabilize churn. The broader challenge is clear: carriers are being forced to reinvent their playbooks as consumer habits change and promotional battles grind away at margins.

For Verizon, this round of layoffs marks a turning point. It signals the end of an era defined by large corporate payrolls and steady subscriber gains. The next chapter depends on whether the company can tighten its structure without weakening the customer experience that built its reputation in the first place.