Sprint Corp. is cutting 2,500 jobs, roughly 7% of its workforce, according to multiple media reports.
The reduction comes amid the wireless carrier’s plan to reduce costs by as much as $2.5 billion, a move that will also involve the closing of several call centers, according to Bloomberg, adding that word of the reduction was delivered to employees on Friday (January 22).
The cuts include 574 jobs at Sprint's Overland Park, Kan., headquarters, per CNBC. The Kansas City Starfirst reported of the layoffs
“We are in the process of significantly taking costs out of the business so the transformation of the company will be sustainable for the long-term,” the company said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We are leaving no stone unturned as we work to eliminate up to $2.5 billion of costs from our business. Unfortunately, as we’ve said over the past several months, the effort to reduce our costs would impact all areas of our business, including jobs.”
Sprint also announced fiscal Q3 results on Thursday, announcing net operating revenues of $8.1 billion, down 10% year-over-year, but up 2% versus the previous quarter.
Sprint also posted a net loss of $836 million (21 cents per share), narrowed from a year-ago loss of $2.4 billion (60 cents per share).
Spring said it added a net 366,000 postpaid phone subs in the quarter, and that postpaid churn for the period, at 1.62%, was its lowest ever for a third quarter. Total net adds in Q3 were 491,000, down from 967,000 in the prior year quarter.
In November, Sprint hatched a promotion that offered 50% off to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless customers who switched to Sprint.
“It’s clear from our quarterly results that we are making great progress on achieving our goals,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, in a statement. “Revenue has stabilized, costs are coming out faster than expected, postpaid phone net additions were the highest in three years, postpaid churn was the lowest-ever for a third quarter, and the network is performing at best-ever levels.”
Last month, Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said his company was talking to wireless carriers, including Sprint, about possible agreements for a hybrid WiFi-cellular phone product. Comcast activated its Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with Verizon in October. Comcast also has an MVNO agreement with Sprint.
