back to article Sprint starting mass layoffs to 'improve operational efficiencies' in mobile network

Workers at third-ranked US mobile network Sprint will have a nervous month as large numbers of them are going to be getting the call to "Come into the HR office please, and bring your key card." On Friday, the company made a regulatory filing in which it said it would be setting aside $160m to cover the cost of the layoffs, …

  1. Hud Dunlap
    Unhappy

    Let me guess.

    The stock went up. Nothing like a good layoff to improve stock prices.

  2. Mark 85

    Certain management and non-management positions?

    So.. the customer support and probably some backroom IT types will get their marching orders. Sales, maybe, maybe not. Anyone above middle management.... nothing to fear. Did I miss anything?

    1. Oninoshiko

      Re: Certain management and non-management positions?

      the part where my already shitty service provided by my employer gets worse.

      1. fishbone

        Re: Certain management and non-management positions?

        Just what I need when my service sucks is a management arsehole making a crappy day worse

    2. Tom 35

      Re: Certain management and non-management positions?

      Bonus for the C level.

  3. Rampant Spaniel

    Hopefully they for rid of the people who are responsible for the slow build out of the network vision tech. There's still plenty of places without let where even tmo has it. Sadly they have probably managed to avoid blame and only the decent staff who actually know what they are doing well get the boot.

  4. A Non e-mouse Silver badge
    WTF?

    Confused

    I know I'm only a lowly geek, but I'm confused...

    - If a company is loosing money and shrinking, it fires staff.

    - If a company wants to expand, it fires staff.

    So when does a company actually hire staff?

    1. John65

      Re: Confused

      They'll outsource to the very cheapest bidder. It's not like they don't need the staff, but if they can hire people who claim to be qualified (to be fair, many are) in another country and not have to worry about a union or pensions and pay that maybe 40% of what they pay now. That's where the money is.

      Of course, as this continues in corps across NA and EU our ability to pay for the services they want to provide us continue to decrease. At some point all these great services will have to be shut down as so many of us won't be able to pay for them.

      Our governments should step up. We're getting the point where corps need to be broken up again.

    2. Frank N. Stein

      Re: Confused

      A company may hire staff when they're customer base is growing and they don't have enough staff to meet their Service Level Agreement.

    3. Fungus Bob

      Re: Confused

      "So when does a company actually hire staff?"

      Thursday.

      When we figure out which Thursday it is, we'll tell you.

  5. Vociferous

    The beatings will continue

    until operational efficiency improves.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I can think of a few people they can fire

    Like the ones who thought buying Nextel after PTT's heydey had passed, going with Wimax instead of LTE at the start of the 4G rollout, and more recently pursuing whatever the hell "Spark" technology is.

    They seem determined to use technology incompatible with other phones in the US, guaranteeing their customers will always have a tiny selection of phones that actually implement their crappy technology du jour.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Re: I can think of a few people they can fire

      'seems Sprint has been studying at the Yahoo! School of Corporate Governance as well as using the same MBA play books.

  7. roger stillick
    Facepalm

    Sprint starting mass layoffs, pt.2

    Insuring they will never have coverage in the areas i live and work in...

    IMHO= smart move...RS.

  8. Gray
    Trollface

    More for less ...

    Boss, to employees John and Fred: "John, can you do Fred's job as well as your own?"

    John: "Are you crazy? I'm working 70 to 80 hours a week doing my own!"

    Boss: "Fred, can you do John's job as well as your own?"

    Fred: "It's just possible. I'm also working 70 to 80 hours a week, but I'm free while commuting 20 hours a week. John's stuff can be moved online. It means all my commuting time will be taken up with laptop work, but it could be done."

    Boss: "John, you're fired. Fred, you should probably buy a faster laptop."

  9. Unicornpiss
    Thumb Down

    Efficiency

    Yeah, and nothing makes customer service more efficient than less people to handle it and outsourcing to somewhere that English is a 3rd language.

  10. Potemkine Silver badge

    Promises in August, Layoffs in September

    Everything is normal.

  11. Johnr

    Service Deterioration

    "The plan is expected to include steps to, among other things, improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs, as a result of which the Company expects to incur material charges under generally accepted accounting principles. "

    Translated -the service is going to get worse . I am an American business customer of Sprint and the bean counters seem oblivious to the deterioration of service. They don't seem to be able to conceive that if you have less employees your customer service goes to shyte.

    Previously we had an account rep here in the state . The last round of "efficiencies" killed that and routed all service requests to bumphuck Wisconsin where the response time to an email is 1/2 to 2 hrs depending as opposed to the previous 5 minutes .This was coupled with requests that we use the online site to do our own upgrades and equipment swaps. When customers flee they are all scratching their privates going "What happened?"

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