Verizon Lays Off Over 13,000 Employees

Verizon, the New York-based telecommunications giant, announced on Thursday that it will lay off more than 13,000 employees, marking the largest workforce reduction in the company's history. The cuts, detailed in a memo from CEO Dan Schulman to staff, affect every department and represent about 13 percent of the company's roughly 100,000 full-time employees as of September.

The layoffs began immediately and are part of a broader effort to streamline operations and redirect resources toward improving customer experiences. Schulman wrote in the memo that Verizon's current cost structure has limited its ability to invest in key areas. "We must reorient our entire company around delivering for and delighting our customers," he stated. He emphasized the need to simplify processes to eliminate "complexity and friction that slow us down and frustrate our customers," while also significantly reducing reliance on outsourced labor and other external expenses.

In addition to the staff reductions, Verizon plans to close one retail store and convert 179 company-owned locations into franchised operations. These changes aim to create a leaner, more customer-focused organization, according to...