Sprint, a subsidiary of SoftBank, and its big rival Verizon Communications are set to cut jobs in the U.S. to reduce costs.
No information is currently available on the number of employees impacted by the job reduction.
Sprint, which is struggling in the U.S. telecom market, will announce details on Tuesday when it announces the second quarter financial result. The telecom network operator will also share plans to boost the quality, speed and capacity of its wireless network.
Sprint has 31,000 employees, while Verizon had a workforce of 177,900 as of the end of the third quarter.
Reuters reports that wireless carrier Sprint aims to slash fiscal 2016 expenses by as much as $2.5 billion, through job reduction and other cost control measures.
Sprint spokesman Dave Tovar declined to predict how many employees would be laid off, saying it was too early in the budgeting process.
The estimated cost savings for Sprint would be equivalent to about 10 percent of its current annual operating costs of $26 billion.
Sprint is also likely to cut Capex (capital spending). On the other hand, Verizon is increasing its Capex.
The ratio of the company’s capital expenditures to its sales is more than 20 percent, which Tovar said is higher than for other wireless carriers. “We are trying to get more in line with the industry average,” he said.
Sprint posted a $20 million loss as revenue dropped 8.7 percent to $8.03 billion in its first quarter ended June 30, 2015.
Meanwhile, Verizon Communications, the largest U.S. wireless carrier said there will be an unspecified number of job cuts.
The company aims to reduce the number of regional offices to six from 20. Verizon spokesman Jim Gerace last week said some jobs will be eliminated though declined to say how many. Sales and store employees won’t be affected. The company gets about 29 percent of its revenue from landlines against 67 percent in 2000.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com