DECEMBER 18, 2022 — 200+ LAYOFFS IN MASS MARKET GROUP
The company has confirmed that it plans to lay off a “few hundred” employees in its mass-market group as the company transitions to faster-growing market segments like 5G and fiber.
According to AT&T vice president of corporate communications Fletcher Cook, "While we aggressively invest in durable and efficient technology, there will be times when we need to adjust our workforce to align with the focus of our company. These decisions are difficult, and we make every effort to do this through attrition, voluntary departures, and reskilling efforts."
MAY 17, 2021 — AT&T ANNOUNCES MAJOR REALIGNMENT. EMPLOYEES BEWARE!
The company is proposing to combine WarnerMedia (HBO, CNN, Warner Bros. movie studio) with Discovery, the cable TV programmer that owns the Food Network and HGTV in a $43 billion dollar deal. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav will lead the new, combined company and employees will drop like flies when the duplicative functions are eliminated and synergies explored.
APRIL 7, 2020 — WARNING MORE CUTS AHEAD
The company has issued a statement that contains ominous undertones…
Even more debt — “AT&T today announced a $5.5 billion term-loan agreement at competitive rates with 12 banks to provide additional financial flexibility to an already strong cash position. The loans are pre-payable without penalty.”
Continued divestiture — “Company expects to close the sale of its Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands operations later this year and intends to use the proceeds to retire an outstanding preferred interest.”
A reduction in force — “The strength and relevance of our core subscription businesses, our continued execution on our business transformation initiatives, and sizing our operations to economic activity will provide cash from operations that will support network investments, dividend payments and debt retirement, as well as the ability to invest in business opportunities that arise as the economies recover.”
Benefit to an activist investor? A known activist investor Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, L.P. own or control at least $3.2 billion of the common stock and economic equivalents of AT&T. Known for demanding divestitures, cost-cutting, debt retirement, and dividends, there is always a reduction in force involved.
FEBRUARY 8, 2020 — 200 TECHNICIAN POSITIONS IN CALIFORNIA
The company has announced that it will cut 200 technician positions, primarily cable and internet service installers, on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2020 including 100 layoffs in Arcadia, Irvine, Ontario, Pacoima, Rancho Dominguez and Riverside, California.
According to a company spokesperson, “Like any business, we must align our workforce with the needs of our customers and the business. To the extent possible, we manage staff adjustments through retirements and voluntary departures, and we help affected employees find other positions within the company.”
OCTOBER 17, 2019 UPDATE: ACTIVIST INVESTOR TAKES A MAJOR INTEREST IN AT&T AND PROPOSES RADICAL CHANGES.
See the Am I Next blog post “Is the Handwriting on the Wall at AT&T."
JUNE 19, 2019 UPDATE — MISERY for 1,800 EMPLOYEES IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS
It appears that AT&T is preparing to cut another 1,800 positions in 24 states and has begun the process of notifying affected workers in the first week of June, 2019.
MAY 16, 2019 UPDATE — COMPANY TO LAY OFF TECHNICIANS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
The company has announced that it will be laying off 101 technicians in San Diego County as part of their larger planned reduction in force of 384 layoffs of employees represented by the CWA (Communications Workers of America) located in the State of California.
It appears that some work involving pay-tv and slower-speed internet connections may be outsourced to contractors.
JANUARY 29, 2019 UPDATE — COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA CLAIM AT&T LAID OFF 10,700 UNION WORKERS IN 2018 AND THE LAYOFFS ARE CONTINUING
According to Motherboard’s site, “AT&T is preparing for yet another significant round of layoffs according to internal documents obtained by Motherboard. The staff reductions come despite billions in tax breaks and regulatory favors AT&T promised would dramatically boost both investment and job creation.
A source at AT&T who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly told Motherboard that company leadership is planning what it’s calling a “geographic rationalization” and employment “surplus” reduction that will consolidate some aspects of AT&T operations in 10 major operational hubs in New York, California, Texas, New Jersey, Washington State, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and Washington, DC. A spokesperson for AT&T confirmed to Motherboard that it is planning to “adjust” its workforce.”
DECEMBER 26, 2017 — Original Post…
There is no holiday cheer at AT&T as they lay off more than 600 (up to an estimated 1,400) employees in five states, including technicians and customer service representatives in what they characterize as an “adjustment.” The spokesperson suggested that it was wrong to characterize the job actions as "layoffs" because "all are being offered the opportunity to relocate to other company facilities, and we hope many will stay with us."
And it must seem tragically ironic that AT&T's CEO, Randall Stephenson, told employees, "Once tax reform is signed into law, we plan to invest an additional $1 billion in 2018 and pay a special $1,000 bonus to more than 200,000 — all union represented, non-management and 1st and 2nd line managers — as added recognition for their dedication and hard work." That is if you are still employed!
According to one media release, “We’re adding people in many areas where we’re seeing increased customer demand for products and services. At the same time, technology improvements are driving higher efficiencies and there are some areas where demand for our legacy services continues to decline, and we’re adjusting our workforce in some of those areas as we continue to align our workforce with the changing needs of the business. Many of the affected employees have a job offer guarantee that ensures they’ll be offered another job with the company, and we’ll work to find other jobs for as many of them as possible.
As a result of decreasing work volume and to increase efficiency, we are consolidating some call center work currently done at one of our locations in Kansas City into another company located in San Antonio. Affected employees will be offered the opportunity to work in our center in San Antonio, and a relocation allowance. Work volume at the center has been decreasing due in part to improvements in technology and customers’ increasing preference to communicate with us online.”
There is little doubt that the company is encountering turbulence as customers turn to internet platforms and “cut the cord” on traditional – and over-priced – bundles that are mostly duplicated between regular and high-definition channels or are specialized or foreign-language programs that are not attracting a mainstream audience. For consumers to pay a heavy price for sports channels that they never watch is also problematical. Then there is the proposed merger with Time Warner that will require regulatory approval from the Trump Administration.
Once again, employee loyalty is trumped by location and company personnel requirements.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
