Thread regarding Verizon Communications Inc. layoffs

I think unions did a poor job here in the USA since they were set up in a wrong way. If you look at Euro unions, they are super lean, union dues are minimal and they only focus on a few things (e.g., transparency with layoffs - they need to be announced 6 mo in the advance and a decent package needs to be given to everyone; wage increases - they need to, minimally, follow the inflation; safety at work - bullying, safe env. etc.) - your Union contribution in Germany will not exceed 20 buck per month. Euros keep it light and people are not bi--hing about it since it's light. Everything Union delivers for them is valuable while spend and egos are kept low. Many union reps do things on a voluntary basis, they do not get gigs, deals, kickbacks, etc. like here in the states.

So, it works for them and it's not slowing down their economies.

Think about it for a moment, this is why Euros are 100% less stressed out than we are.

There was a thread here on healthcare that would benefit us all and immediately it was downnvoted heavily with only the extreme negatives being discussed. If you talk about unionization you will be downvoted heavily with again only the negatives being thrown around.

The reality is there is a significant percentage of the middle class that don’t have any empathy until they personally go through the same situation . They like to support billionaires, politicians and insurance companies because they are so brainwashed that anything to help the general public is branded as socialism even as chrony capitalism and lack of debt control at the government levels continue unabated.

So nothing will ever change.

@c8
In reality, why listen to anyone else's opinion when it is all for ratings and advertiser money?

@OP Alos a follow on warning. If you donate to any political party through their official portals (or any candidate for that matter) odds are they will sell that information to anyone. Since part of that is phone number you are open to scam texts that look real. Something like - Hi it's (your preferred candidate)..... look what (political rival did/said) "donate $10 NOW so we can put a stop to this!!!!" . Congrats - you just gave $10 to a scammer AND revealed you can be manipulated into being swindled on impulse. You are now valuable and India scammer will also now sell your data to other scammers as responsive too.

@c7 so you don't listen to Qanon and Fox News like everyone assumes on here?

@ac It's posts like this, from mo--ns like you, that cause divide in the country. You think Libs do everything correct. You're just brainwashed. The OP was correct, both parties do not care. Get out of your ECHO CHAMBER and stop listening to Rachel Madcow.

@ad Ok sure, but if we spend all the money every year for services like Firefighters, cops, roads, parks, public libraries and so on. When you give a tax cut, one of these (or all) has to be cut too. This is an example of a tax cuts taking funds away from things we need/want as a society.

Ok now instead of those very good things, let's give it to my we-pons contractor friend. He's a great guy. Helped me out of a tough spot. So I say let's pay him 50x what we would pay at Home Depot for the same part. He deserves it.

Oh no we made him a billionaire! We can't tax him now!!! He'll leave his cash cow and go somewhere else after scraping everyone's salary beneath him for another bonus!

@OP An honest, reasonable evaluation of our government's (including the Fed) fiscal policy over since Nixon would conclude that although we will all never agree with the policies, they all had knock on effects for better or worse.

1. Point: Abandonment of Bretton Woods was a bad decision - Well if you want international trade and economic growth through massive credit extension that's the only way. BUT it causes increased inflation. Counterpoint: if you trade with other nations and you peg your currency, they will buy up your gold on the cheap and take advantage of the wide price gap (currency manipulation) . Also, wars are expensive.

2. Point: Massive military spending is unnecessary, wasteful, installs a huge industrial complex that feeds corporate stockholders, also can be used to threaten the citizenry. As well as potentiallyfunding universal healthcare for out alliesbuy actingas the worlds policeman. CP: The full faith and credit of the US government is also backed up by that and since we want global expansion of trade, we need to protect our interests abroad. In times of conflict, we can't wait to spin up industrial production and manpower. We need to stay one step ahead of rivals in technical prowess (think space race). Some of that policy bleeds into farm subsidies as well. Finally a large MIC produces well paying jobs and economic expansion.

I could go on and on. Point is a lot of controversial politics/policies have many facets we overlook when consider their effects based on our built in opinions.

Check out the money flow from the philanthropy side of the house. Take note of where the money is going and to whom. Example - ever since BA took over GTE (don't give me that merger of equals BS) to form VZ the company has given $1 mill per year to each of Jesse Jacksons organizations. Then there is all the money flowing to the rainbow coalitions. Read for yourself.

People rail about a political party yet your company is funding causes which most of you would not support. Glass house much?

@ac

😂 and how many of those items happened under the prior administration? Didn't "want to" do those things all that much, huh?

Get real.

@aa I seem to recall a university study a few decades ago that concluded that a little more than half of small businesses in the US almost completely function by serving large businesses.

@ac 😆🤣😂. You clown

@aa THIS. EXACTLY. THANK YOU.

@ac what do you think leaving the border open for 4 years does to wages genius

@OP This is all about politics. There is nothing in your life not affected by politics. Verizon lost more customers than it expected in the first quarter and blamed it on Federal government cuts are partly to blame.

Over a million well paying middle class jobs are shed this year alone, still few days to go. Jobs which allowed us to borrow from future, we borrowed the very idea of a better future. Rich can flee country when they like it. Poor feels lucky to have shelter from the elements. What can middle class do? Refinance, sell, move school district, state, country?

Canada has freedom. France has healthcare. So what are we supposed to do? Upend our lives and move? Well, good luck getting a work visa in most other countries, and try settling on their terms. They got problems their own. The thing though. many are trying to solve issues for longer term, sincerely, serving public interest. We are talking too much, doing little. Go ahead scroll your phone and let that app tell you how to tag me red or blue. Wish you best either way.

@a6 You don't TAKE money from anyone to fund a tax cut. You just stop taxing someone. It's that simple; that's how you do a tax cut. If you understood Economics 101, you would understand this. I'll bet you do know this so the alternative is that you are just lying.

One party wants to give you a livable minimum wage, supports unionization, and wants to set up healthcare insurance that is not tied to your employer so that you don't have to claim bankruptcy if you should get sick while jobless. The other party is 110% about trying their damnedest to get the millionaires to billionaire status, and the billionaires to trillionaire status before they croak... but sure they're both the same. 🙄🙄🙄

The economy is in a rough patch, but as someone who has spent years working in developing countries, I recommend this:

Get on your knees and thank God (or your higher power of choice) that you were born in the United States of America.

Even with everything going on now, you have the most freedom and opportunity of anywhere on Earth. By far. It's not even close.

Most jobs are created by small businesses, not the mega corps we slaved away in.

Huge layoffs everywhere. The economy is in the tank. I couldn’t care less of the clowns think that’s political. They can fu-k off

Absolutely accurate. Both parties are complicit in ki-ling the middle class in America and its shameful. Everything from shipping jobs over seas to the Fed to taxing the sub 100K earners half thier income. We do not live in a free society, we live in wage slavery.

It is political.

One party took money FROM the working class to fund tax breaks for the rich via the “Big Beautiful Bill”.

The other wants to fund healthcare and education by taxing the rich but some call it communism.

Look how many people are in denial that T Mobile’s massive outsourcing and lower paid American jobs didn’t help them run a leaner business now ki-ling Verizon?

@a1 Add to the list Nokia - 14000 (from 2023 to 2026) and perhaps even more.

Yep

@a1 perhaps their hearts are two sizes too small?

Sounds like you’re second-guessing your vote. 🤔

Companies Cutting Jobs (Recent Layoffs) - Seattle Times

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/layoffs-are-piling-up-raising-worker-anxiety-here-are-some-companies-that-have-cut-jobs-recently-2/

Verizon

• 13,000+ employees laid off in November 2025

General Motors

• 1,700 workers in Michigan and Ohio (late October)
• Additional temporary layoffs planned for early next year

Paramount

• 2,000 employees (10% of workforce)
• 1,000 laid off in late October
• 1,600 positions eliminated from Argentina and Chile operations
• 600 employees took voluntary severance

Amazon

• 14,000 corporate jobs (4% of workforce)
• Workers given 90 days to find internal positions

UPS

• 48,000 job cuts throughout the year
• Closed 93 leased and owned buildings

Target

• 1,800 corporate positions (8% of corporate workforce globally)

Nestlé

• 16,000 jobs globally over next two years

Lufthansa Group

• 4,000 jobs by 2030

Novo Nordisk

• 9,000 jobs (11% of workforce)

ConocoPhillips

• 2,600 to 3,250 workers (up to 25% of workforce)

Intel

• Down to 75,000 core workers from 99,500 (15% workforce reduction)

Microsoft

• 6,000 workers in May
• 9,000 additional positions later (biggest round in 2+ years)

Procter & Gamble

• Up to 7,000 jobs over next two years (6% of global workforce)