Verizon's layoffs will do little to address its downward spiral, according to a new analysis from Seeking Alpha. The carrier's new CEO, Dan Schulman, tried something similar at his last company, PayPal, with no meaningful payoffs.
Verizon needs new products
Verizon's Q3 2025 in a nutshell. | Image Credit - Verizon
Instead of making the best of its existing resources, Verizon is taking drastic measures: it is in the midst of laying off 13,000 employees and wants to purchase EchoStar’s AWS-3 spectrum.
The company's goal is reportedly a 20 percent reduction in the non-union workforce, a move ostensibly to fund investment in the customer experience.
The layoffs might not help for two reasons:
The laid-off employees likely represent only a fraction of its annual expenditure.
Job cuts can be disruptive, shifting management focus from building the business to merely reassigning job functions.
PayPal also conducted massive layoffs around the time Schulman was CEO there, but that doesn't seem to have yielded the turnaround the company was hoping for.
Verizon needs to look beyond the obvious cost-cutting strategies and come up with a solution to grow its business and attract new customers.
The company has lavished capital on network upgrades with little to show for it. The carrier has lost 414,000 customers this year, and while broadband is a new stream, it is not a lucrative one.
Schulman's language about delighting customers and running the company efficiently appears to be code for simply continuing former CEO Hans Vestberg's strategy but at a cheaper cost.
The real changes may be about to come
Verizon is doing more than letting employees go to make itself more attractive to customers. It recently announced no-trade-in deals. Similarly, Verizonhasn't ruled out price reductions, so we may see them next year, especially if this turns out to be the fourth consecutive quarter of customer losses for the carrier.
Schulman hasn't been in the driving seat long enough for his vision for Verizon to take shape, so it's best to let a few months pass before commenting on his strategy.
Is Verizon headed in the right direction under Schulman?
Doesn't seem like it.
70%
Yes, if we take his words at face value.
0%
Maybe.
30%
Shouldn't Verizon be moving at breakneck speed?
Verizon's worst nightmare – losing the number one spot – appears to have already come true. Of course, things could get much worse if the company doesn't make drastic changes, but that doesn't mean it has to implement poorly planned measures. Schulman is proceeding carefully, perhaps getting a feel for things before he makes any industry-shaking moves.
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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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