Verizon plans to cut up to 15,000 jobs under new CEO Dan Schulman

Verizon Communications plans to cut up to 15,000 jobs this month, as new CEO Dan Schulman launches an aggressive cost-cutting campaign to make the company leaner.

The cuts, expected to begin next week, will primarily affect non-union jobs across all sectors of the company, a source familiar with the matter told FOX Business.

Verizon spokesman Rich Young said nothing has been finalized and the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.

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However, the cuts are in line with Shulman’s plans to keep the company competitive in the market. He told investors during an earnings call at the end of October that the company is reinventing the way it operates “to make Verizon more agile and efficient.”

“We will invest significantly in all elements of our marketing mix and customer experience to drive mobility and broadband growth, and we will fund these investments by significantly reducing our entire cost base,” Schulman said. “We will be a simpler, leaner, more disruptive business. This business is overdue and will take several years and will be an ongoing way of life for us.”

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Schulman, the former CEO of PayPal, was hired in October to help the telecom giant recover from slowing customer growth and increasing competition from AT&T and T-Mobile. Its primary goal is to achieve profitable expansion of Verizon’s customer base across both its wireless and broadband businesses.

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The cuts follow new CEO Dan Schulman. (Pao Parina/AFP via Getty Images)

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Shulman, who served on Verizon’s board for seven years, told analysts on an October call that the company’s financial growth relied too heavily on price increases and that “a strategic approach that relies too heavily on price without subscriber growth is not a sustainable strategy.”

“Every year, growth becomes more difficult as we ride out price increases and see higher volatility. This cannot continue, and there is no doubt that real change is needed,” he said.

Dan Schulman served on Verizon’s board of directors for seven years. (Eric McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Schulman told investors that the shift to a customer-first culture will simultaneously lead to a more efficient cost structure that will support the company’s additional investments to enhance the customer experience. He also rejected the assumption that focusing on customer satisfaction would hurt profit margins.

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“I think the industry, and obviously Verizon, is only scratching the surface of increasing core performance,” he added.

Competition among the top wireless carriers — Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile — is intensifying as subscriber growth slows, Wells Fargo analysts said in an October research note.

In order to remain competitive, analysts said companies are rolling out aggressive promotions, including free phone offers, to attract new customers.

Analysts expect Verizon to face the biggest challenge in increasing the number of postpaid phone customers in 2025, while AT&T and T-Mobile appear likely to achieve their goals.