The Real Math Behind Verizon's Layoffs (And What It Means for Your Job Search)

On November 20, 2025, Verizon CEO Dan Schulman sent a letter to employees announcing the elimination of more than 13,000 positions. The message was dressed in familiar corporate language: "building a stronger Verizon," "simplifying operations," and "meeting customer needs."

But here's what caught my attention: alongside the massive workforce reduction, Verizon announced a $20 million "Reskilling and Career Transition Fund" that the CEO touted as groundbreaking—claiming Verizon is "the first company to set up a fund" for workers "as we enter the age of AI."

I've never been laid off myself, but I've watched it happen to friends and colleagues more times than I'd like to count. I've seen the fear in their eyes when they have mortgages, kids in daycare, and suddenly no paycheck. I've worked at companies where people were let go with vague excuses like "change of direction"—while the company was still actively hiring for similar roles. The dishonesty was insulting.

But I've also worked at smaller companies that handled layoffs the right way. They gave people months of notice, helped connect them with other companies, treated them with dignity. If a startup with limited resources can do layoffs ethically, why can't a telecom giant with $5.1 billion in quarterly profit?

Here's the math on Verizon's approach:

What do these numbers mean?

If you're one of the 13,000+ employees losing your job at Verizon, that $20 million fund sounds substantial at first. But when you break down what's actually happening, the picture becomes much clearer—and much grimmer.

The cost side:

Assuming an average fully-loaded employment cost of at least $100,000-$150,000 per employee (salary, benefits, office space, equipment, insurance), Verizon is cutting at least $1.3 billion in annual expenses.

The support side:

The $20 million reskilling fund represents approximately 1-1.5% of those savings, again at least.

Put another way: for every $100 Verizon saves by eliminating your job, they're allocating $1-$1.50 to help you find your next one.

If we divide that $20 million equally among 13,000 workers, each person gets roughly $1,538. In major metro areas where Verizon operates, that might cover two months of health insurance continuation (COBRA) assuming these folks don't have families to consider—in which case the costs could run upward of $4,000 a month (I know, that's what I had to pay in COBRA costs when I needed to extend care for my family of 4)—or a few career coaching sessions, or a professional resume writer.

This isn't a serious investment in workers. It's a rounding error dressed up as compassion.

Decoding the Corporate Language

Let's translate what was actually said in Schulman's announcement:

What they said: "Building a stronger Verizon"

What it means: Cutting costs to maintain profit margins for shareholders

What they said: "Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition"

What it means: We choose to prioritize short-term profits over both employees and long-term customer service quality

The actual numbers: In Q3 2025 alone, Verizon reported:

1. $5.1 billion in net income (up 48% from the previous year)
2. $8.1 billion in operating income (up 37%)
3. $15.8 billion in free cash flow over the first nine months of 2025

Let's be crystal clear: a company that generated $5.1 billion in profit in a single quarter wasn't limited by its cost structure. Verizon had plenty of money. They chose to cut 13,000 workers while profits surged nearly 50%. The limitation wasn't financial—it was a choice about priorities.

What they said: "First company to set up a fund as we enter the age of AI"

What it means: We're using AI as a convenient narrative to justify layoffs that would have happened anyway due to market conditions

What they said: "Simplifying operations and reducing complexity that frustrates customers"

What it means: Fewer employees will handle more work, likely resulting in longer wait times and reduced service quality

The "AI Era" Excuse

The framing around AI deserves special scrutiny.

Schulman's claim that this was about "entering the age of AI" was opportunistic at best, disingenuous at worst. Companies have been replacing workers with technology for decades—from automated phone systems to self-checkout kiosks to chatbots. The underlying dynamic hasn't changed; only the buzzword has.

AI was used as moral cover for decisions that are fundamentally about the same thing they've always been about: maximizing returns for shareholders by minimizing labor costs.

What About Customer Value?

Let's examine the claim that cutting 13,000 employees would somehow improve customer experience.

In my experience (and probably yours), frustrations with telecom companies come from:

1. Long hold times when you call customer service (staffing issue)
2. Being transferred between departments repeatedly (staffing and training issue)
3. Inconsistent information from different representatives (staffing and training issue)
4. Closed or understaffed retail locations (staffing issue)
5. Slow response times to service issues (staffing issue)

Notice a pattern?

Fewer employees don't solve these problems—they make them worse.

The "complexity" that frustrates customers isn't solved by workforce cuts. It's solved by investing in better training, clearer processes, empowered frontline staff, and adequate staffing levels. All of which cost money that Verizon decided not to spend.

If You're One of the 13,000: What to Do Right Now

If you're reading this as a Verizon employee who just learned your position is being eliminated, I'm genuinely sorry. You deserve better than a form letter and a $1,500 slice of a "groundbreaking" fund.

Here's what you should do immediately:

1. Document Everything

1. Get copies of all employment records, performance reviews, awards, certifications
2. Download work samples (if legally permissible and non-confidential)
3. Save contact information for colleagues and managers who can serve as references
4. Document your accomplishments with specific metrics where possible

2. Understand Your Severance Package

1. Read every word of the severance agreement before signing
2. Negotiate if possible (yes, even in mass layoffs—especially if you have specialized skills or long tenure)
3. Understand what you're giving up (usually the right to sue) and what you're getting
4. Consult an employment lawyer if the numbers don't seem right

3. Maximize the "Reskilling Fund" (Such As It Is)

1. Find out exactly how to access these resources
2. Prioritize high-value training that's transferable (certifications, technical skills)
3. Don't waste it on generic "how to write a resume" workshops—use it for skills development
4. Act quickly before the fund is depleted or restricted

4. File for Unemployment Immediately

1. Don't wait until your last day
2. Start the paperwork as soon as you have an official end date
3. You've paid into this system through your taxes—use it

5. Leverage Your Industry Knowledge

1. You have insider knowledge of telecom operations, systems, customer needs
2. Competitors (T-Mobile, AT&T) and adjacent industries (tech, cable companies) need people who understand this space
3. Don't undersell this expertise when positioning yourself

6. Build Your Network Now

1. Connect with former colleagues on LinkedIn before you lose access to internal directories
2. Join telecom and tech professional groups
3. Attend industry meetups and conferences (many have free or low-cost virtual options)
4. Let your network know you're in transition—people want to help

7. Take Care of Your Mental Health

1. Job loss is traumatic, even when it's "just business"
2. You're allowed to be angry, scared, and frustrated
3. Reach out to friends, family, or professional counselors
4. Remember: this is about corporate priorities, not your value as a worker or person

The Bigger Picture: What This Means for All Job Seekers

Even if you don't work for Verizon, this announcement should matter to you. Here's why:

The "Reskilling" Narrative is Largely a Myth

Companies love to talk about reskilling programs when they announce layoffs. It sounds compassionate and forward-thinking. But the reality rarely matches the rhetoric.

$20 million for 13,000 people is not a serious reskilling investment—it's PR. True reskilling requires sustained, personalized training programs costing tens of thousands of dollars per person over months or years. That's not what's happening here.

The burden of "reskilling" is being placed on individual workers who just lost their income, not on the profitable companies eliminating their positions.

Your Employer is Not Your Family

We're often told to be "loyal" to our employers, to go "above and beyond," to treat the company like family. But when financial pressures arise, companies don't reciprocate that loyalty.

Verizon's announcement is a reminder: you are a line item on a spreadsheet. When the math changes, you're gone.

This isn't cynicism—it's realism. Understand the relationship for what it is: a professional transaction. Give your best work, but don't sacrifice your life for a company that will optimize you out of existence when it's convenient.

Job Security is an Illusion in the Modern Economy

There's no such thing as a "safe" job anymore. Verizon is a massive, established telecommunications company—not a failing startup. If 13,000 people there can lose their jobs in a single announcement, it can happen anywhere.

And it is happening everywhere. In 2025 alone:

1. Microsoft eliminated 15,000 positions
2. Intel cut 15% of its entire workforce
3. Amazon slashed 14,000 corporate roles—the largest layoff in the company's history
4. Meta eliminated 3,600 employees
5. Over 126,000 tech workers lost their jobs across the industry
6. More than 1 million American workers were laid off in total

Verizon's 13,000 cuts aren't even the largest this year. This is the new normal: profitable companies eliminating thousands of workers at a time, often citing "AI transformation" or "operational efficiency" while reporting record profits.

What this means for your career strategy:

1. Always be networking, even when you're employed
2. Keep your skills current—don't assume your current role will exist in 5 years
3. Maintain an emergency fund (6-12 months of expenses if possible)
4. Start a Brag Doc in real-time, not when you're suddenly job searching
5. Own your career development—don't wait for your employer to invest in you

The AI Conversation is Missing Nuance

AI is not a savior. It's a tool. The question isn't whether AI will replace jobs—it will. The question is: who benefits from replacing workers?

Right now, the answer is overwhelmingly: shareholders and executives.

Workers are being told that AI will "free them" from mundane tasks, but in practice, it's being used to eliminate positions entirely. The productivity gains aren't being shared with workers through higher wages, shorter hours, or better working conditions. They're being extracted as profit.

Here's the irony: Many executives genuinely believe AI will save them money by cutting headcount. But this is short-term thinking that will backfire. AI cannot fully replace people—it can't handle edge cases, build relationships with frustrated customers, solve novel problems, or understand nuanced context the way humans do.

What companies discover after mass AI-driven layoffs is that their remaining employees are overwhelmed, service quality tanks, institutional knowledge disappears, and they end up hiring contractors or consultants at higher rates to fill the gaps. The "savings" evaporate, but the damage to company culture, customer trust, and employee morale is permanent.

The smarter play would be using AI to augment workers, making them more productive and valuable. But that requires investing in people, not eliminating them. And in a quarterly-earnings-driven business culture, long-term thinking loses every time.

This doesn't have to be the future.

Where Leadership Accountability is Missing

One detail was conspicuously absent from Schulman's letter: any mention of executive compensation cuts, leadership restructuring, or how the C-suite would share in the sacrifice.

The executives who made the strategic decisions that led to this "unsustainable cost structure" weren't the ones losing their jobs. Neither were the board members who approved those strategies.

Here's what accountability would actually look like:

1. Executive salary and bonus cuts proportional to workforce reductions
2. Forfeiture of stock options or deferred compensation
3. Leadership restructuring and elimination of redundant executive roles
4. Board member accountability for strategic oversight failures

I've seen what real accountability looks like. I worked at a small company that had to let people go during tough times. They gave affected employees three months notice. They helped them network with contacts at other companies. They kept them on payroll while they interviewed. They treated people like human beings, not line items.

That company had a fraction of Verizon's resources. If they could afford to do layoffs with dignity, why can't a company with $15.8 billion in free cash flow?

The answer is simple: they can. They choose not to.

Key Takeaways

Let's be clear about what happened:

✓ This was a cost-cutting measure, not a strategic transformation

✓ The $20M fund was a token gesture, representing ~1.5% of savings from eliminations

✓ The AI narrative was cover for decisions driven by market pressure and profit goals

✓ Customer service will likely suffer, not improve, from massive staff reductions

✓ Affected workers deserve better than euphemistic corporate speak and minimal support

✓ All workers should take note: job security is fragile, even at established companies

A Final Thought

To the 13,000 Verizon employees losing their jobs: your situation is unjust, but it doesn't define your worth.

You brought skills, dedication, and expertise to Verizon. Those don't disappear when the company decided to optimize its cost structure. Your next employer will benefit from everything you've learned—including the hard lessons from how this transition was handled.

To everyone else: pay attention. This is happening across industries, from tech to telecom to finance to retail. The playbook is the same: maximize shareholder value, minimize labor costs, dress it up in strategic language, offer minimal support, repeat.

The question is: what are we going to do about it?

Start by demanding transparency when companies announce layoffs. Ask about executive compensation. Question the narratives. Support workers' rights to organize and negotiate collectively. Vote with your wallet when companies treat employees poorly.

And on a personal level: take control of your career. Track your applications, build your network, document your wins, and never stop learning.

Because if there's one thing Verizon's announcement did, it was to remind us that no one is looking out for your career except you.

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Sources:

1. [Building a Stronger Verizon - CEO Letter (November 20, 2025)](https://www.verizon.com/about/news/building-stronger-verizon)
2. [Verizon Q3 2025 Earnings Press Release (PDF)](https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/3Q-Verizon-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf)
3. [Verizon Reports 3Q 2025 Earnings](https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-reports-3q-2025-earnings-reiterates-full-year-financial-guidance)
4. [Verizon's Q3 2025 Earnings Show Steady Growth - TipRanks](https://www.tipranks.com/news/company-announcements/verizons-q3-2025-earnings-show-steady-growth)
5. [Verizon Q3 earnings analysis - RCR Wireless](https://www.rcrwireless.com/20251029/uncategorized/verizon-q3-earnings)
6. [Tech Layoffs 2025 - Crunchbase](https://news.crunchbase.com/startups/tech-layoffs/)
7. [Comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs - TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/22/tech-layoffs-2025-list/)
8. [AI was behind over 50,000 layoffs in 2025 - CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/21/ai-job-cuts-amazon-microsoft-and-more-cite-ai-for-2025-layoffs.html)
9. [Layoffs 2025: Over 1 million job losses - Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/91452265/mass-layoffs-2025-announcements-1-million-led-by-tech-government)