Verizon to sell 274 stores, cut 500 jobs under CEO Schulman
Verizon is accelerating its shift to a franchise-heavy retail model by offloading 274 stores and cutting 500 corporate jobs, a cost-saving manoeuvre aimed at protecting margins in a saturated U.S. wireless market.
Verizon will sell 274 company-owned retail locations and eliminate roughly 500 corporate roles, impacting about 3,000 employees in total. The store sales, effective August 16, will leave the U.S. carrier with a directly owned footprint of 1,000 locations. This restructuring follows the elimination of several hundred jobs in May and a broader round of more than 13,000 layoffs announced last November.
The move signals a definitive pivot toward an asset-light retail model under CEO Dan Schulman, a board member since 2018 who took the helm in October. By offloading physical locations to franchise operators, Verizon can reduce real estate and payroll expenses while maintaining its high-street presence. The company noted that in previous sell-offs, about 70 per cent of affected retail staff transitioned to the new franchise owners.
Six large operators currently run the bulk of Verizon's franchised stores, which collectively number around 5,000 outlets. In an employee note, the carrier emphasized its reliance on these partners, stating it is working with them "to elevate the experience in every one of their locations because we know how important they are to our overall customer experience."
Shrinking the corporate retail footprint is a financial necessity in a saturated U.S. telecom sector where Verizon battles AT&T and T-Mobile. Network operators are aggressively competing for subscribers by extending device subsidies, offering plan discounts, and spending heavily on infrastructure. Last month, Verizon responded to these pricing pressures by pledging simpler plans, eliminating activation and upgrade fees, and launching a new loyalty program.
Beyond retail costs, Verizon faces significant capital expenditure demands to maintain its network advantage. In May, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile agreed to form a joint venture utilizing satellite technology to close rural coverage gaps. Analysts view this collaboration as a defensive measure against SpaceX’s Starlink, which poses a long-term threat of direct competition to established wireless carriers.
