AT&T to shed 4,700 jobs as part of $6B savings plan, says labor union

AT&T is to cut more than 3,400 technical and administrative jobs and permanently close about 250 shops employing 1,300 people, according to a trade union, piling further misery onto a US telecom workforce that has already witnessed thousands of job cuts in the last few years.

The US operator’s plans were apparently disclosed to the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which slammed the move in a public statement and said the layoffs would add to the “pain of the recession already underway.”

AT&T subsequently confirmed to Light Reading there would “targeted but sizeable reductions” across the workforce as part of cost-cutting activities.

“Reducing our workforce is a difficult decision that we don’t take lightly,” said a spokesperson in emailed comments. “With more customers shopping online, we are closing some retail stores to reflect our customers’ shopping practices. While these plans are not new, they have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In April, AT&T announced plans for a major cost-cutting program designed to save about $6 billion by 2023, including $1.5 billion in labor expenses – about 4% of total labor costs.

If cuts were spread evenly across all salary bands, that would imply about 10,000 layoffs, a much higher number of job losses than the CWA’s figure.

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