Verizon’s New CEO Moves to Cut 15,000 Jobs as Telecom Competition Intensifies

Verizon is preparing for one of the largest corporate overhauls in its history. The company’s new chief executive, Dan Schulman, is planning to eliminate roughly 15,000 jobs — about 15% of the workforce — in a sweeping restructuring aimed at repositioning the telecom giant amid slowing subscriber growth and escalating competitive pressure.

The layoffs, expected to begin as early as next week, target non-union management roles most heavily, with reductions exceeding 20% across leadership ranks. Verizon also plans to convert around 180 of its corporate-owned retail stores into franchised operations, signaling an aggressive streamlining of fixed costs.

The move marks a decisive and early statement from Schulman, who took over the top role in October after a tenure leading PayPal. His mission at Verizon is clear: reverse stagnating growth, simplify the organization, and restore competitiveness in a wireless market increasingly shaped by price-sensitive customers, cable-industry challengers, and rivals offering richer device promotions.

A Cost Structure Built for a Different Era

For years, Verizon maintained the highest-priced plans in the U.S. wireless market and resisted aggressive promotional battles. That approach kept margins strong but left the company vulnerable in a market that has shifted sharply toward discounting, flexible pricing, and bundled internet offerings from cable operators.

Schulman has publicly criticized Verizon’s dependence on price hikes, warning that “a strategy that relies too much on price without subscriber growth is not sustainable.” Instead, he has insisted that Verizon must become “simpler, leaner and scrappier.”

Investors appear cautiously optimistic: shares rose 1.5% after news of the cuts, though Verizon’s stock has gained just 8% in the last three years, compared with nearly 70% for the S&P 500.

Slipping Behind AT&T and T-Mobile

Behind the restructuring is a sobering competitive reality. Verizon added only 44,000 postpaid subscribers in the third quarter — far behind AT&T, and nowhere close to T-Mobile, which continues to lead the industry with more than 1 million net additions.

The company’s longtime brand strength no longer guarantees customer loyalty, particularly as T-Mobile and AT&T roll out aggressive trade-in deals coinciding with new iPhone releases. Meanwhile, cable companies like Comcast and Charter have disrupted the market by bundling mobile service with broadband at steep discounts.

To reclaim momentum, Verizon will likely need to subsidize far more expensive devices than it has in recent years — a costly move that requires offsetting budget cuts elsewhere.

“The obvious question was how Verizon planned to pay for that,” analyst Craig Moffett said. “Now we know. What we don’t know is whether these reductions will fully offset rising retention costs.”

A High-Pressure Balancing Act

Verizon’s spending decisions over the past few years have left Schulman little room for error. The company paid $52 billion in 2021 to secure mid-band spectrum essential for 5G, a move analysts say may have overextended the balance sheet. Verizon also spent $20 billion to acquire Frontier Communications and $6 billion to buy TracFone Wireless.

Those investments were designed to expand Verizon’s footprint and transition the company toward a 5G-first consumer strategy. But without subscriber growth, the economics become more challenging — especially as debt servicing costs rise in a higher-rate environment.

The upcoming layoffs add to a steady pattern of reductions. Verizon cut nearly 20,000 jobs over the last three years, including 4,800 voluntary departures last year. But this new round represents a deeper operational reset.

A Recalibration of Verizon’s Retail and Management Footprint

Beyond workforce reductions, the company’s plan to convert 180 corporate stores into franchised locations suggests a long-term shift in how Verizon prioritizes retail operations. Franchised stores carry lower overhead costs and less direct labor exposure, but they can complicate brand control and customer service consistency.

For Verizon, the decision reflects a broader recalibration of operating expenses — one designed to stabilize margins while freeing cash for competitive pricing, device subsidies, and 5G infrastructure.

Schulman’s challenge is to find savings without undermining Verizon’s reputation for network quality, its strongest competitive advantage. While layoffs may alleviate short-term financial pressure, the long-term test will center on revenue growth, churn reduction, and maintaining brand strength in an increasingly commoditized wireless market.

What Comes Next

The cuts signal that Schulman intends to reshape Verizon sharply and quickly. The telecom giant is facing a convergence of pressures — consumer fatigue with high plan prices, a crowded 5G landscape, and customers who now expect substantial device incentives.

As Verizon confronts those realities, the company’s next year will hinge on whether these restructuring measures can create enough flexibility to reinvest in growth. For now, Schulman is betting that a smaller, more agile organization will give Verizon the competitive edge it needs to reassert itself.