Wireless carrier Sprint said it will take a $160 million charge to earnings in its fiscal second quarter to cover the costs of severance packages and other expenses related to a planned workforce reduction that it said began on Sept. 30, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Sprint said in the filing that the workforce reduction is expected to be concluded by Oct. 31.
“The plan is expected to include steps to, among other things, improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs, as a result of which the company expects to incur material charges under generally accepted accounting principles,” Sprint said in the filing. The layoffs will include management and non-management positions.
Sprint spokeswoman Roni Singleton said the company is still working through the reductions so exact numbers are not available. Sprint currently employs about 33,000 people
Sprint’s new CEO Marcelo Claure said back in August that the company, controlled by Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank which yesterday agreed to invest $250 million in movie studio Legendary Entertainment, that job cuts were “inevitable,” but didn’t know what extent they would take.
Claure was named CEO of Sprint in August. He is the former CEO of Brightstar Corp., a wireless distributor and subsidiary of SoftBank.
