AT&T is preparing another round of “significant” layoffs, according to a report from Vice’s Motherboard on Tuesday.
Motherboard cited internal documents at the telecommunications giant that said AT&T is planning for a “geographic rationalization” that would consolidate some operations in 10 locations, including New York, California, and Texas.
“To win in this new world, we must continue to lower costs and keep getting faster, leaner, and more agile,” AT&T executive Jeff McElfresh reportedly said in an internal memo shared with company managers on Friday. “This includes reductions in our organization, and others across the company, which will begin later this month and take place over several months.”
In an email to Fortune, AT&T spokesman Jim Greer said, “We are hiring to meet the needs of the growth areas of our business. In fact, we hired more than 20,000 new employees last year and more than 17,000 the year before. In cases where we do have to adjust our workforce, we take steps to lessen the effect on employees.”
In August, the Guardian reported that AT&T had closed 44 call centers since 2011, affecting 16,000 jobs. In a filing that AT&T made with the Securities and Exchange Commission in November, the company said it employed 269,280 workers as of Sept. 30, 2018, up from 256,800 employees one year earlier.
AT&T’s stock closed Tuesday up $0.39 a share, or 1.26%, at $31.28 a share.
