Verizon customers apparently starting to pay the price of downsizing already
An alleged Verizon employee details the immediate effects of layoffs on customers.
A Verizon location. | Image Credit - Fierce Wireless
Did Verizon think this through?
Yesterday, Verizon announced it would be laying off 13,000 employees and turning 179 stores into franchised operations. That's approximately 13 percent of its workforce.
District directors, who formed the main chain of communication between stores and Verizon's Vice President, have been let go. Stores must now call the Vice President directly for any issues they may have, slowing everything down. The removal of directors will also affect how stores are run, since they were tasked with ensuring smooth operations.
Business directors have also been terminated, and business representatives are expected to pick up the slack for no extra pay. This will likely affect how business customers are served.
Verizon's authorised reseller, Victra, is said to have bought corporate stores. Victra doesn't seem equipped to handle customers and often redirects customers to corporate stores that are still functioning.
Instead of transferring representatives to short-staffed locations, Verizon chose to lay them off. This decision will likely force the carrier to hire and train new employees, a move that will be costlier than simply shuffling existing staff.
After the job cuts, the customer service department is stretched thin and is directing callers to other departments, who aren't trained to solve customer issues such as order reversal.
Key structural roles have also been eliminated: the operations team, which helped with store processes and tech support, has been trimmed, and District Managers, key to maintaining store structure, have also been let go.
Verizon's new strategy to tighten operations will frustrate customers in the short term. Verizon expects the remaining staff to rally around its goal of pleasing customers and regaining market leadership, but the current chaotic environment isn't conducive to that.
Dan Schulman took over from Hans Vestberg last month, after the latter was abruptly ousted for his poor performance. Vestberg's misguided network strategy and the rampant price hikes caused customers to migrate to rival networks.
Schulman has inherited a Verizon that must dig itself out of the hole Vestberg dug before it's too late. The exec isn't afraid to take hard decisions, and the current round of layoffs is the largest in the company's history.
The job cuts are impacting its ability to provide support to customers. The roles that kept store staff accountable have been eliminated. Third-party stores are adding to the burden by messing things up and expecting corporate stores to fix the mess.
The employees who are still on Verizon's payroll are in a difficult headspace due to the firing of their coworkers and the additional responsibilities falling on them.
After the job cuts, the customer service department is stretched thin and is directing callers to other departments, who aren't trained to solve customer issues such as order reversal.
Verizon's new strategy to tighten operations will frustrate customers in the short term. Verizon expects the remaining staff to rally around its goal of pleasing customers and regaining market leadership, but the current chaotic environment isn't conducive to that.
The Leaner Brand the new team is pushing will be something of a pain for the customers experiencing it for the short term. I've heard talks of people generating transfer pins en masse to scare the higher ups (if you're doing that, turn on port lock). No idea what they expect reps to do, hearing their friends and coworkers are being fired around them. Its not exactly the sort of headspace you want someone to drive sales and a good expirience for customers to be in.
ThatCatWhatPonPon, Reddit user, November 2025
Schulman has got too much on his shoulders
Dan Schulman took over from Hans Vestberg last month, after the latter was abruptly ousted for his poor performance. Vestberg's misguided network strategy and the rampant price hikes caused customers to migrate to rival networks.
The job cuts are impacting its ability to provide support to customers. The roles that kept store staff accountable have been eliminated. Third-party stores are adding to the burden by messing things up and expecting corporate stores to fix the mess.
The employees who are still on Verizon's payroll are in a difficult headspace due to the firing of their coworkers and the additional responsibilities falling on them.
Change is difficult
It's not surprising that operations are in disarray only a day after the layoffs were announced. However, given that Verizon is already on thin ice with customers unhappy with the level and quality of support provided, this new strategy could prove disastrous. Schulman has a long track record of helping companies perform well, so he probably knows what he is doing, even if we can't make sense of it right now.
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