T-Mobile cuts 1,900 jobs as subscriber numbers shrink
updated 05:20 pm EDT, Thu March 22, 2012
T-Mobile trims to stay afloat, add LTE
T-Mobile's American CEO Philipp Humm sent notice to staff that it was cutting jobs to consolidate its plans. A net total of 1,900 positions were being lost in The Verge's copy of the memo, mostly in call centers in Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. the cuts ultimately affected 3,300, although 1,400 jobs being added to current call centers were softening the figure.
The carrier would be "restructuring other parts of the company" in the future, Humm added, in a likely reference to future cuts. Engineering, store staff, and those in the remaining call centers wouldn't be affected.
In defending the cuts, the CEO made clear that it was shrinking subscriber numbers and the corresponding lack of support call traffic. "Our cost structure must be better optimized to match our customer base and call volumes," he said.
The cuts are partly a direct reaction to the absence of the iPhone. T-Mobile blamed the lack of an Apple deal for losing customers in the fall. It similarly plans to move to LTE in 2013 to stay competitive with other major carriers and faces billions of dollars in expansion costs. While the call center cuts may only have a slight impact, they would help justify existing expenses.
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