Verizon to Cut Thousands of Jobs at AOL and Yahoo

Verizon is planning a major restructuring of its retail stores that will involve mass layoffs and the closing of hundreds of cellphone locations, according to five people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly.

The company has not publicly said how far that will go, but employees say field briefings and leadership memos are pointing to “bold” action in making the operation leaner and more digitally oriented.

What We Know So Far About Verizon’s Planned Retail Cuts

Several employees across regions say managers have warned that layoffs will come soon, with some locations threatened with full shutdowns of their facilities and certain operations shifting to slimmed-down levels of staff. Insiders have also described an even greater focus on moving transactions to automation, such as AI-guided sales flows and customer service that lessens the need for in-store staff or helpers. Chatter on worker forums and industry communities has risen, and several trade outlets have noted the same signs.

Verizon has previously telegraphed cost control and simplification on recent earnings calls, highlighting operational discipline and a pivot to higher-margin channels. The carrier last revealed a workforce of slightly more than 100,000 employees in its annual report, and any material workforce action would be one of the company’s biggest retail shake-ups since previous restructuring and voluntary buyout programs.

How Verizon Is Remaking Retail With Fewer Stores and Automation

Wireless sales in brick-and-mortar stores have taken a hit as consumers move to upgrades from home, orders delivered to their homes, or pickup at the curb. Industry analysts have reported waning attendance at carrier stores for several years, a reflection of broader trends in retail. Additionally, costs of subscriber acquisition continue to be elevated; therefore, value creation will increasingly depend on efficiency and digital migration.

Verizon’s plans are also driven by competitive dynamics. Its rival T-Mobile also announced about 5,000 job cuts as part of its own slimming-down process, and AT&T has been shuttering corporate locations while doubling down on authorized retail outlets and digital support. Verizon already uses a mix-and-match model in which dealer partners like Victra and Cellular Sales staff the majority of branded storefronts; reducing corporate sites would drive even more demand to those channels and to its app and web.

Investors have spurred carriers to manage cash flow better as 5G capital intensity normalizes. With growth in postpaid phone subscribers stable but harder to come by, carriers are concentrating on monetizing premium plans, fixed wireless access, and bundled content. Slashing static retail costs — leases, staff, and stock overhead — feeds margin expansion, of course; it’s why store optimization is still the central lever.

Automation at the Counter: AI Is Reshaping In-Store Interactions

Verizon has been introducing AI across care and sales, including virtual agents, guided troubleshooting, and proactive account alerts to deflect calls and shrink interactions. Those shop-assistant-like traits, employees say, are starting to emerge in-store as well, with guided selling scripts and automated trade-in valuation and self-serve pickup flows processing a bigger slice of routine transactions.

Carriers say these systems create faster, more accurate operations; skeptics say they still fall down in tricky use cases — multi-line migrations, enterprise device setups like those needed by a police department, and accommodations for handsets set up for the disabled. J.D. Power wireless retail studies have consistently shown that informed sales associates are a key to satisfaction, meaning Verizon will have to balance automation gains with customer service if it’s going to prevent churn from increasing.

Who Is Likely Affected by Verizon’s Store Closures and Cuts

Those briefed on Verizon’s plans said the closures would likely focus on low-traffic corporate stores and overlapping trade areas, particularly where authorized retailers are plentiful. Surviving locations will also likely have smaller staffs and employ more appointments and pick-up lockers. Back-office jobs linked to old processes might be slimmed as workflows shift to central hubs and AI-aided systems.

Understaffing was a common complaint among workers like Paul Johnsen, an install and repair technician for Fios who said he was the only employee covering an area in Queens with numerous new installations every day that required him to use a rubber band to hold his tools because he didn’t have equipment bags. The problem has become worse as live calls from customers dwindled during the pandemic.

The Communications Workers of America represents part of Verizon’s workforce, and members of the union at Verizon have complained about job erosion related to outsourcing and automation over the years. Retail workers are less organized in unions, potentially constraining formal negotiations over severance or reassignment. Previous telecom downsizings have included sweeteners such as severance pay, transfers to other positions within the company, and outplacement support — people will be looking for this sort of protection.

Customer Impact and Competitive Stakes as Verizon Restructures

For consumers, fewer corporate stores might mean longer drives to in-person service, but also faster online transactions if digital tools are robust. The danger is to be mired in service friction during the transition — shortages of inventory or snags with porting, sluggish repairs to devices — all points at which competitors can leap. If Verizon plays its cards right, it can cut costs while pushing more customers toward self-service and the My Verizon app, which has been gaining an expanding feature set around device and account controls.

Competitively, a more streamlined Verizon could amp up pressure on pricing discipline and premium plan upsells using fixed wireless and fiber to forge stronger household relationships. But missteps in support at retail can quickly erode Net Promoter Scores and increase churn. AT&T and T-Mobile will monitor store markets where Verizon is retreating, focusing on switchers with local promotions and small-business outreach.

What to Watch Next as Verizon Executes Its Retail Overhaul

Some of the key signals to watch include the extent and geography of closures, how much more traffic Verizon pivots toward authorized retailers, and how closely it rolls out artificial intelligence across its frontline workflows. Also keep an eye out for disclosures on severance and redeployment, alterations to store hours and formats, and any new digital sales benchmarks shared on upcoming earnings calls.

The direction is clear even if the final headcount figures are not: Verizon is shrinking its retail model to better fit how customers purchase service today. Whether that “bold” strategy translates into a cleaner customer experience — and stronger financials — will hinge on how well the carrier sustains workers and shoppers during its transition.