Verizon buyouts: 10,400 employees accept severance offer

Verizon Communications on Monday said that more than 10,000 employees accepted buyouts as part of a voluntary program designed to cut costs at the telecom company.

The buyouts will help Verizon realign itself “to optimize growth opportunities in the 5G era,” the company said in a press release. The 10,400 employees will receive as much as 60 weeks’ salary, plus bonuses and benefits.

“These changes are well-planned and anticipated, and they will be seamless to our customers,” said Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg. “This is a moment in time, given our financial and operational strength, to begin to better serve customers with more agility, speed and flexibility.”

The employees receiving buyouts will wrap up their time at Verizon by either the end of 2018, the end of March 2019 or June 2019, depending on the company’s needs. Verizon had 152,300 employees as of the end of its third fiscal quarter of 2018.

Verizon said last September that it would offer the early retirement packages to all of its management employees, in the first such voluntary program at least 13 years, the Wall Street Journal reported. The move was part of Vestberg’s bid to cut $10 billion in costs over the next several years.

Vestberg has prioritized efforts at Verizon to build out a 5G network faster than its rivals.

“Together, we are leading the world during this great technological revolution, and we will continue to lead the way,” Vestberg added.