T-Mobile lays off employees months after $26 billion Sprint merger
Wireless provider claims it will create 5,000 jobs over next year
T-Mobile is laying off employees this week following its $26 billion merger with Sprint in April, telling workers in a blog post that those laid off “will be supported in their efforts to find a new position outside the company.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMUS | T-MOBILE US INC. | 235.61 | -2.14 | -0.90% |
James Kirby, T-Mobile’s vice president, told hundreds of Sprint employees in a six-minute phone call Monday that their services were no longer needed, according to TechCrunch.
THE WARN ACT: WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE GETTING LAID OFF
The nearly 400 people on the phone call were reportedly part of Sprint’s inside sales unit, which focuses on small businesses. TechCrunch reports that it was just one of several phone calls T-Mobile leadership held with employees throughout the day to lay them off.
This widespread cuts enacted the WARN ACT, per TechCrunch, which requires companies to give employees advance notice of coming layoffs before the final day of employment which for some is in about two months.
T-Mobile did not answer questions about the layoffs but did direct FOX Business to its blog post on the matter Tuesday.
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T-Mobile said today that the layoffs are part of their efforts to “rapidly evolve and transform our workforce into an even more effective and efficient team that is best positioned to serve customers where and how they want us to.” The company claims that it will create 5,000 new positions over the next year.
T-Mobile and Sprint completed their $26 billion merger in April after clearing multiple legal hurdles and proving to regulators they wouldn't stifle competition.
'ROUTING ISSUE' CAUSE OF T-MOBILE DATA SERVICE PROBLEM
In addition to the layoffs, the company was also dealing with a widespread outage of voice and data service that last roughly 10 hours on Monday.
Ray Neville, the president of technology at T-Mobile, tweeted that the network was having a "voice and data issue,” while T-Mobile’s help department tweeted that it was a “routing issue.”
THE FCC WANTS ANSWERS ON T-MOBILE OUTAGE
T-Mobile resolved the issue after roughly 10 hours, but Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said he is launching an investigation into the disruption.