Verizon Says 10,400 Workers To Voluntarily Leave Company

(RTTNews) - Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) said that about 10,400 employees, or nearly 7 percent of its workforce, have accepted the company's voluntary buyout offer that was first announced in September.

This voluntary buyout program is part of Verizon's efforts to cut costs and trim its workforce as it focuses on optimizing growth opportunities in 5G network service. Verizon has announced a goal to save $10 billion in cash by 2021.

"These changes are well-planned and anticipated, and they will be seamless to our customers. This is a moment in time, given our financial and operational strength, to begin to better serve customers with more agility, speed and flexibility," said Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg.

Verizon's voluntary separation program offers employees up to 60 weeks' salary, bonus and benefits, depending on their length of service.

Employees who chose to volunteer were notified by the company whether they were accepted and their last date on payroll - either year-end 2018, or the end of March 2019 or June 2019, depending on the needs of the business.

The program was offered to 44,000 employees across all of Verizon's business segments. Verizon had 152,300 employees at the end of the third quarter of 2018.

In a letter to the company's employees, Vestberg said, "For those who were accepted, the coming weeks and months will be a transition. For the entire V Team, there will be opportunities to work differently as we prepare for the great things to come at Verizon."