AT&T will let go of a few hundred employees as the season of tech layoffs hits another big company.
The telecommunications giant told employees in an internal meeting that it plans to lay off people from its mass market group, a subdivision of its larger consumer group that oversees marketing, sales and offers, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans. The carrier has around 170,000 total employees.
The details, including exact timing, are still being finalized, but AT&T confirmed the layoffs as part of its transition to faster-growing segments like 5G and fiber. The company continues to hire in those areas.
“While we aggressively invest in durable and efficient technology, there will be times when we need to adjust our workforce to align with the focus of our company,” said AT&T vice president of corporate communications Fletcher Cook. “These decisions are difficult, and we make every effort to do this through attrition, voluntary departures, and reskilling efforts.”
In a year of inflation and a souring economy, AT&T isn’t the only telecom that’s had rounds of layoffs, with Verizon letting go of workers in August and T-Mobile laying off employees in July and September.
The carrier layoffs are just a slice of the huge number of jobs lost in the tech industry this year as companies contract their workforces after disappointing quarterly earnings and the potential recession hitting next year. Snap cut around 20% of its workforce, Meta slashed over 11,000 jobs, Microsoft laid off around 1000 workers and Amazon’s late-year layoffs are expected to continue into early 2023.
