T-Mobile exec warns of additional layoffs
updated 04:20 pm EDT, Tue May 15, 2012
Extent of staff cuts remains unclear
T-Mobile CEO Philip Humm has reportedly distributed a memo to employees warning of "difficult decisions" as the company prepares to announce further restructuring plans. The note does not detail the extent of such cuts, though the executive suggests it is forced to find a new strategy that "aligns our costs with our revenue realities" to help the company "return to growth."
"Changes will include some position eliminations and changes to individual roles and responsibilities," Humm wrote in the memo, which was posted by TmoNews. "As mentioned in the March announcement, customer service representatives in the remaining 17 call centers, technicians in engineering, and frontline employees in our T-Mobile corporate-owned stores will not be affected."
The company in March announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 1900 positions, mostly from call centers in Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas.
An AT&T executive vocally highlighted the layoffs as evidence that the FCC made the wrong decision by blocking its proposed T-Mobile acquisition. The comments were dismissed by some as absurd, as AT&T likely would have made the decision to trim redundant positions following a merger.
Many analysts point to market factors as the primary factor behind T-Mobile's troubles, as the lack of an iPhone 4S distribution agreement was credited with bleeding the company's market share. Plans for an LTE rollout are set for 2013, however the carrier is lagging behind Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in adapting infrastructure to support the faster network technology.
