Layoffs are apparently top of the list for the new CFO. | Image by Old Town Trolley Tours
Layoffs might be necessary at times, but they will never not leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Both T-Mobile and Verizon have been letting employees go since the arrival of their new CEOs and the shift toward AI. AT&T is now following suit, apparently.
With new execs come... great layoffs?
AT&T welcomes a new CFO. | Image by AT&T
AT&T's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Pascal Desroches, is stepping down after five years, passing the torch to Jennifer Biry. Biry is finding her way back to the company after a stint at McAfee as CFO and Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Desroches will retire at the end of the year, while Biry joins as the Deputy CFO in the interim.
Like T-Mobile and Verizon, AT&T is in a transformative phase, aiming to reposition itself as a "high-performance networking company."
While the higher-ups celebrate, others are gearing up to pack up their bags
AT&T is seemingly gearing up for massive layoffs. | Image by Reddit user dh101r
The first order of business for Verizon's new CEO, Dan Schulman, was laying off 13,000 employees. While T-Mobile's CEO Srini Gopalan didn't immediately slash the workforce, the company has been intermittently eliminating positions since late last year.
While AT&T's CEO John Stankey isn't going anywhere for now, this CFO shuffle hints at a shakeup at the upper echelons. And just like T-Mobile and Verizon, that shakeup seems to come with a side effect of layoffs.
Ten percent of positions were eliminated in Reddit user's dh101r's department today, and they have heard that other wings were hit even harder.
Apparently, the layoffs affect multiple departments across the company. One alleged employee says that the business connectivity sales team was among those impacted.
Why is AT&T laying off employees?
Downsizing in the dark
While Verizon's layoffs grabbed the spotlight last year due to their sheer scale, AT&T has been quietly reducing its headcount for a while. From 2024 to 2025, the company laid off 8,000 people, leaving it with 133,000 employees at the end of last year. That's more than Verizon's tally of 89,900. Just last month, AT&T trimmed an additional 87 workers.
Layoff season
The Big Three aren't alone in letting employees go, with the broader tech sector riding the same wave. While some positions are being replaced by AI, others are being eliminated in the name of AI.
With growth cooling off and market sentiment making price hikes risky, cutting the workforce allows telecom companies to protect their precious margins.
Customers might feel it
While the true breadth of AT&T's alleged recent layoffs isn't known, if customer-facing positions were eliminated, it could mean longer wait times and abysmal customer service, at least for some time. That's what we saw play out at T-Mobile and Verizon, after all.
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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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