Still reeling from the government’s rejection of its plan to merge with AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA says it will cut an additional 900 jobs. In March the company said it would cut 1,900 jobs as it closed call centers, but that many of those workers might be re-hired at its other call centers.
T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm told employees that 2012 is a year of “rebuilding” that requires “difficult decisions.” He said that affected employees would receive the news personally this week and that they will receive severance, assistance with COBRA and outplacement services. The company currently employs about 36,000 people, so total workforce reductions announced to date would comprise about 7.7% of the workforce if the call center employees let go in March did not return to the company.
T-Mobile USA lost half a million contract customers, or about 1.5% of its total customer base, during the first quarter. It is the only one of the top four U.S. carriers that does not yet carry the iPhone, and this has encouraged some customers to switch carriers. But T-Mobile USA does carry the Samsung Galaxy phones, the HTC One and the Nokia Lumia Windows phones. If any of these proves to be a big seller this summer, the company could see its outlook improve.
