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T-Mobile USA reportedly slashes 1,900 jobs

T-Mobile USA is letting go of approximately 1,900 employees, with the threat of more layoffs to come.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

We've seen a lot of layoffs in the technology sector in the last few weeks, namely at IBM, AOL and Hewlett-Packard.

Nokia joined that list earlier today, and now T-Mobile USA is the latest tech giant handing out pink slips today -- and the cuts are deep.

The nation's fourth largest mobile provider is slashing approximately 1,900 jobs, according to The Verge.

A leaked memo from T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm has been published in full over on the blog, but here are the significant points:

  • T-Mobile is consolidating its call center operations and closing seven of 24 facilities.
  • The affected customer service facilities are Allentown, Pennsylvania; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Frisco, Texas; Brownsville, Texas; Lenexa, Kansas; Thornton, Colorado; and Redmond, Oregon.
  • Approximately 3,300 employees at the seven impacted facilities will be affected.
  • Impacted call centers will remain open for three months after this announcement.
  • Jobs at the other 17 call centers as well as at T-Mobile stores should remain unaffected for now.

There are also some conflicting sentiments and messages in the memo.

For one, Humm explained that T-Mobile will immediately begin hiring at the remaining 17 call centers with as many as new 1,400 jobs.

It looks like some employees might be able to retain their jobs -- if they're willing to move -- as Humm explained that "employees who choose not to transfer and are employed on the date the center closes, will be offered transition packages with severance pay and outplacement support."

On the other hand, more layoffs at T-Mobile are still very possible as Humm noted that they will be "restructuring other parts of the company" in the near future.

The reasons behind the workforce reduction is to better optimize cost structures to "match the customer base and call volumes."

There are also some other reasons not specified in the memo that could be at play here, including possible effects following the fallout with the failed AT&T merger as well as the fact that 802,000 customers left the Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier during the fourth quarter.

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