MAY 28, 2023 — THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES ARE AT RISK
In a mass phone call to customer service employees, the company has notified them of upcoming “restructuring” and “streamlining” measures that are all but certain to result in significant layoffs.
Those involved in the call were told they’d be able to accept a severance offer (two weeks per year of tenure) or, in select cases, apply for roles to “transition to the next stage of your career journey.”
Those roles targeted include customer experience, loyalty, and technology positions.
It is believed that the company plans to offshore its customer service operations and employ sophisticated AI-driven chatbots.
NOVEMBER 4, 2021 — CONTINUING BAD NEWS
Verizon has confirmed that it executed another round of layoffs and employee buyouts that impacted the Verizon Business Group, which includes the company’s channel team, and the Verizon Global Technology Solutions Group.
A company spokesperson noted, “The industry-wide shift in consumer trends and expectations is driving the need for us to do things differently. This is an ongoing process as we continue looking at ways to enhance our customer’s experience while helping to make the business more efficient. We must adjust staffing levels in some parts of our business. These decisions are never made lightly and we will work with employees who are impacted by these changes throughout their transition.”
The company refuses to disclose the number of layoffs.
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — Original post…
New York, New York-based Verizon Communications has just offered 25% of its workforce, approximately 44,000 employees the opportunity to take a voluntary severance package in order to save $10 billion in costs by 2021. Verizon's severance package mostly targets senior employees, some with 20 years or more with the company, making it difficult for those in their 50s and 60s to obtain new employment.
This is in addition to transferring 2,500 IT workers to Infosys of the India’s largest outsourcing contractors.
The long-term Verizon employees to be outsourced appear to be royally screwed as they are not eligible for severance payments and won’t receive their 2018 bonus if they are offered a job at Infosys and don’t accept it. According to published reports, “the severance offer excludes employees who are being 'rebadged' to Infosys and offered a 1-year retainer at the Indian company, most likely to train their replacements.” Negotiating at the point of a proverbial gun. The Infosys outsourcing contract is said to be worth $700 million.
According to new CEO Hans Vestberg, the reduction-in-force will give Verizon “an opportunity to find more efficiencies in the size and scope of our V Team and help expedite the building of an innovative operating model for our future.”
Making major employee decisions before a major holiday season appears to be short-sighted. Look for further layoffs and an exodus of top talent. And increasing stress on the remaining employees who will be forced to do more with less.
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