Verizon Announces More Than 13,000 Job Cuts

Verizon announced plans to reduce its workforce by more than 13,000 employees as it seeks lower costs, simpler operations and a customer-focused restructuring.

Workforce reduction announced

Verizon has announced plans to lay off more than 13,000 employees, a reduction described as affecting about 13 percent of its workforce.

The company reported around 100,000 full-time employees in September. Verizon said every part of the organisation would experience some degree of change, while it also plans to significantly reduce spending on outsourced and other external labour.

US-based employees were expected to begin receiving notifications on Thursday, according to reporting cited in the source material. Employees outside the US were expected to receive updates in the coming weeks.

Cost structure and customer strategy

The cuts form part of a broader effort to reduce costs and reorganise Verizon around its customer offering. Chief executive Dan Schulman said the company’s cost structure had limited its capacity to invest substantially in customer value.

Schulman said Verizon intends to simplify operations and remove complexity and friction that he said were slowing the company and frustrating customers. The company is also preparing to share new organisational structures and priorities in the coming weeks.

Schulman became Verizon CEO last month after previously leading PayPal. The company described the changes as part of its next phase of growth.

The source material also noted that Verizon had lost around 7,000 postpaid phone customers in its most recent earnings report. At the same time, Verizon has been expanding internet offerings through a $20 billion merger with fibre provider Frontier and a deal to acquire antenna-based internet service provider Starry.

AI and transition support

Verizon linked the workforce changes to changes in technology and the economy affecting workers across industries. It also said it had created a $20 million reskilling and career transition fund for departing employees.

The fund is intended to support skill development, digital training and job placement. Verizon said the initiative is specifically focused on opportunities and skills needed as the age of AI develops.

AI is therefore part of Verizon’s stated workforce-transition framing, but the announced cuts were also attributed to cost reductions, operational simplification, customer priorities and reduced external labour spending. The company did not describe the job cuts solely as a result of AI automation.

Wider restructuring context

A separate source described additional changes during 2026, including May cuts of around 621 employees and July changes involving 274 retail stores, 2,500 staff transferred and 500 corporate cuts. That source placed the cumulative figure at more than 16,600 roles, but those figures cover later actions and should not be treated as part of the announced more than 13,000-employee reduction.

The same source characterised the November 2025 action as affecting about 13,000 employees and almost 20 percent of Verizon’s non-union management jobs, while the other source described the reduction as about 13 percent of Verizon’s workforce. The available reporting therefore uses different measures of the affected workforce.

Verizon announces job cuts affecting more than 13,000 employees

Workforce reduction announced

Cost structure and customer strategy

AI and transition support

Wider restructuring context

Sources