Here is a large scale layoff report. AT&T had 281,000 employees in 2019, fast forward and it’s around 149,000 or less now. So those who don’t think layoffs and attrition aren’t happening on a regular basis is fooling themselves.
I didn't even realize how huge the drop is. This is some scary sh-t.
The companies that were sold off were DIRECTV, Warner, Vrio, and Xander. Then a bunch of people were "rebadged" from AT&T to IBM, Accenture, Microsoft most recently.
But truth is probably closer to what @vv+1jv7y6we8 is saying. AT&T has been playing hide the layoffs with the buying and selling and reorgs, so it's been easily dismissed as "just part of the divestments," but this has been going on for years.
I personally think this is all John Stankey's master plan that he began developing as the Chief Strategy Officer back in 2012-2015 and mushroomed as he emerged as the heir apparent to Randall. And Stankey's grand plan is to get as much from as little as possible as any cost (or cost reduction as the case may be.) I also think he's trying to weave himself an even larger golden parachute than Randall's...just to see if he can.
You do realize the divestments only made up approximately 20% of the workforce so a total reduction of 50%-20% divestiture of TW and DTV=30% which is still the majority of employees who were reduced from other drastic means.
"The point of the article(,) Sherlock(,) is that there has been a sharp/drastic reduction in headcount since 2019."
But that's not what the article said, and that would have also been a gross misrepresentation since that decline can mostly be attributed to the divestments. So you absolutely cannot compare the 280k employees which included at least two company acquisition spinoffs to the 140k it is now. 2007 was an all-time high because all the Bells, with all the duplicate job titles/functions were being brought in under the T label. It makes since to downsize as you don't need multiple HR and payroll depts for example.
I do not disagree that the divestments have created a way to hide the additional downsizing, but to present it as if the decline from 2023-2024 was somehow sharper and more drastic than anything that has happened in the last 18 years, excluding the 3 years of relative stability in 2012-2014, shows that someone hasn't been familiar with the way T has been working since it reassembled itself ala 'Terminator style.' Lop parts off, cover it up with an acquisition while continuing to bleed the unwanted parts. Lop off the acquisition, send another few thousand with it so it doesn't attract attention.
T doesn't do anything fast. This culling started well over a decade ago and won't likely end anytime soon with the sunset of copper. It's just become more noticeable, because T was counting on the people who were still with the company under the Bells terms would leave quicker than they have, so they've had to start using more aggressive tactics. They would be happiest if anyone who came on before 2013 were gone, with the exception of upper management, of course, who has a completely different set of rules anyway.
How many of the 281,000 were part of getting rid of the stupid acquisitions? More of an apples to apples comparison imo.
The point of the article Sherlock is that there has been a sharp/drastic reduction in headcount since 2019. You can parse and drill down to a granular level but fact still remains, approximately 281,000 employees to a reduced workforce of nearly 50% of 141,000 and falling by the day. Before Time Warner & DTV, in 2007 it was over 300k employees, technology has caused a portion of the reduction but contracting, offshoring, attrition, relocations and layoffs has accelerated those numbers.
9,000 reduction isn’t a small number for one year, 6.39% decrease
And the year before it was 10,800 at 6.72%, so how was a smaller reduction, both in number and percentage somehow so sharp/drastic? That's how it su-ks for research. Saying it was a sharp decrease implies it was unlike years before it, or somehow uncharacteristic. Might have been better to have framed it as "continuing the trend of headcount reduction from the previous year, even at a slightly lower rate." Claiming this was such a sharp decrease is sensationalism for anyone who was uninformed and hadn't been paying attention or recognized that it was same sh-t, different year.
140,900 is with-in a 100 of “AT&T had around 141,000 employees” so how does that su-k for research. 9,000 reduction isn’t a small number for one year, 6.39% decrease.
“As of December 2024, the telecommunications company AT&T had around 141 thousand employees, a sharp decrease from the previous year. “
Someone su-ks at research.
2024 headcount was 140,900.
2023 (reported as January 2024) was 149,900.
I wouldn't call that sharp decrease, when also considering 2022 was 160,700. The decrease from 22-23 was greater. Before that, it was a decrease from 203,000 to 160,700, which incudes the Warner divorce.
Keeping fairly close to trend would have T sitting at about 132,450.
Probably be down another 10k by the end of this year.
Published by
Ahmed Sherif, Mar 3, 2025
“As of December 2024, the telecommunications company AT&T had around 141 thousand employees, a sharp decrease from the previous year. “
AT&T on cost-cutting trend
“AT&T's workforce has declined year-on-year since 2019, with a 40 percent reduction through to January 2024. In 2020, AT&T's CEO, John Stankey, committed the operator to finding six billion U.S. dollars in savings by 2023, with a reduction in labor costs listed as a key target. In Spring 2023, the operator announced further measures in the form of office closures across the country, with a new policy requiring certain management staff to attend an office at least three times a week. While these measures did not include layoffs, AT&T stated that the new requirements may spur employees to seek opportunities elsewhere. Moreover, the company's 2022 decision to spin off its interest in the media company WarnerMedia significantly reduced its workforce by over 20 percent.“
Maybe so, but T also used the divestment of those companies as subterfuge for general layoffs that they could quietly attribute to the sales and demergers.
OP, you're an id--t. Those numbers are before the separation of Warner and DirecTV.
T is NOT making revenue so their only solution is to cut overhead expenses!
The numbers were higher than that before Time Warner and DTV, used to be over 300k, further back even higher. So there is a pattern of reductions to reach globalist and Wall St. numbers
I believe 281k included all time Warner and directv employees which are no longer counted.
These numbers aren’t that surprising. With recent crackdowns on full time employees working part time hours, a 50% personnel reduction makes sense.
75K or best. #MAGA