If its true that the budget needs to be cut by an additional $4 Billion in 2022 ( I personally believe this) and half of that will be through reduction in HD expense (probably low estimate), then at a average per employee annual expense of $150k (probably high estimate) that means about ~ 15,000 additional HC reduction in 2022.
Does this estimate seem about right? or too low or too high.
You are close to the actual number that may be affected in 2022. Here is the Math.
$150,000 per employee x 13,500 employees = $2.025 Billion
About 5000 employees may leave (or have left) voluntarily in 2021 due to changes in pre-Medicare retiree health benefits.
Thus, the number of employees that could potentially be affected in 2022 = 13,500 - 5000 = 8,500.
However, the $4 Billion number is just a rumor, isn’t it? Most technical departments at AT&T are hiring and are looking at both internal and external candidates.
too low
Stink - "I'm going to resize the dividend, which will save $6B from the budget."
BoD - "Sounds great! And nice job on hitting the cost savings target. Here's a bonus."
Meanwhile overhead departments such as legal, marketing, finance, external affairs, HR and corporate support will grow their budgets by double digit percentage increases. Why does the company need its own “University”? Why does the company need 10 jet aircraft? Why does everyone at the VP and above get a free luxury car?
Why are there annual junkets at some of the most expensive resorts to plan strategy?
When the proxy comes out this year the BOD will award bonuses and salaries for the selling of TW and DTV!!
Xandr will be sold in 2022. Most Retail stores will close in the next 5 yrs. Probably leave 1 or 2 stores open in the bigger cities so the over 70 yr old customers can walk in and ask 'how do i get my my local weather on my phone'. Contractor headcount reduction offset by added offsite employees. Continue migration to AZURE and AWS cloud. The jury is out on whether this will really provide cost savings. I'm sure it will be spun as saving millions per year (which will come from headcount reductions). Stanky will retire and McElfresh will leave T for another company in 2022 . Total headcount needs to be <200K to be competitive. Stock price will drop to low teens but will be back in the 20s in 2023.
And the easy prediction is that the benefits for active and retired employees will continue to be cut each and every year.
Stink will sell off another of Ratty's great acquisitions - maybe Mexico? For a shiny nickle and make another $9M broker fee. It continues his strategy of buying high and selling low, enriching himself. Stops the bleeding of good $ after bad and reduces the operating budget, but not the debt Ratty and Stinky stuck us with.
When additional pension funding ends, maybe a little lower.
Once the corporate retail stores are all gone, no problem.