Verizon Communications Inc. VZ has continued its workforce restructuring with a new round of layoffs, affecting several hundred employees across the United States. The latest layoffs came less than six months after roughly 13,000 roles were cut, resulting in the largest reduction that the company has ever made.
As per thestreet.com, the latest cuts, confirmed on May 7, are expected to hit Verizon’s headquarters in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, the hardest. Verizon is following last year’s restructuring and plans to continue cost-cutting efforts beyond 2026. The layoffs come as telecom companies across the industry, such as AT&T T and T-Mobile TMUS, face pressure to balance profitability, network investments and rising competition in wireless and broadband markets.
The workforce reductions are tied to Verizon’s larger transformation strategy centered on cost savings, network expansion and artificial intelligence-driven efficiencies. During the company’s first-quarter earnings call, CFO Tony Skiadas said Verizon is targeting $5 billion in operating expense reductions by the end of 2026 and expects an additional $1 billion in annual cost synergies by 2028.
Company leaders said savings are being driven through workforce reductions, cuts to contractor spending, decommissioning legacy copper infrastructure, and shrinking the company’s real estate footprint. While Verizon stated that AI was not directly responsible for the latest layoffs, executives acknowledged that automation has already reduced vendor support costs and improved software development productivity. The company is still hiring in areas linked to business growth while reducing staff in selected functions as part of a broader efficiency initiative.
The restructuring comes as Verizon reported its strongest first quarter in years, including its first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net additions since 2013 and adjusted earnings per share growth of 7.6% year over year. Earlier this year, Verizon completed its $20-billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, expanding its fiber footprint to 31 states and nearly 30 million passings. Verizon is also accelerating the rollout of its AI technology stack to automate customer service and digital sales functions, with CEO Dan Schulman saying the company expects the system to be substantially completed by July and fully implemented by November.
Verizon currently has Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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