An office tower for Verizon Communications at The Hub on Causeway in Boston.

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

Verizon Communications is the latest major corporation planning massive layoffs as competition intensifies in the telecommunications industry.

The company will cut about 15,000 jobs, with most expected to come through layoffs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, Nov. 13. Verizon is the largest US telecom provider by subscriber base.

The carrier will also reportedly convert about 200 stores into franchised locations, shifting those workers off its payroll. Verizon employed about 100,000 people as of February, according to securities filings.

The cuts come as Verizon faces growing pressure in both wireless and home internet markets. The company has lost postpaid phone subscribers for three straight quarters. 

In the third quarter of 2025, Verizon reported a net loss of 7,000 consumer postpaid phone connections, while analysts had expected a gain of 19,000. AT&T and T-Mobile have continued to grow subscriber bases during the same period.

Verizon named Daniel Schulman as its new CEO in October. The New Jersey native is a former lead independent director for Verizon, along with previously serving as CEO of PayPal and Virgin Mobile USA.

On the company's Q3 earnings call, Schulman told investors the company would aggressively lower costs and work to reverse subscriber losses.

"Verizon is at a critical inflection point," he said. "We have a tremendous amount of opportunity to be more efficient, to be scrappier. Cost reductions will be a way of life for us here."

The worker was electrocuted working in a Verizon bucket truck.

The worker was electrocuted working in a Verizon bucket truck.

Wikimedia Commons - Famartin

Morgan Stanley analysts said Schulman's plan wouldn't be "easy or quick." They added that it's "possible — if not probable — that Verizon can improve operating and financial performance over time while remaining a rational actor in the marketplace."

Verizon joins a growing list of major employers trimming staff this fall. Amazon, General Motors, NBC News, Nestlé, Paramount Skydance, Starbucks, and UPS are among those to announce rounds of layoffs as companies turn to automation, cost controls, and restructuring.

The layoff wave comes as American workers report significant concerns about job security. A new FlexJobs survey of more than 3,000 US workers found that 26% are more worried about being laid off now than they were in February, while another 23% said their anxiety has stayed the same.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that US employers announced more than 153,000 layoffs in October, the highest for the month in 22 years.