Verizon is focused on wrong things like work location and blah blah
Verizon has major issue of too many managers and layers .. only few people are doing actual work.
I am a working bee in band 6 and I have 10 layers between me and Hans.. it’s ridiculous. My managers don’t do any actual work .. only “managing” the work done by me.
13 replies (most recent on top)
Everyone is a director now.
Hans was making 20 million until after the vsp cut he got a 8 million dollar raise. Worth every penny don't you think?
Speaking of fat, workaholic VPs that have given up everything for power including their health are a great example for vteamers to look up to. Ones that say “take the vacation” while also still contacting their team while on vacation for firedrills. Verizon has rewarded this individual style of leadership for decades. Actions speak louder than hashtags.
No, actually. I don’t want to be the boss — I just want leadership that holds itself accountable and doesn’t protect mediocrity. Criticism isn’t jealousy. It’s called caring about results. Pretending everything is fine while the business erodes isn’t loyalty — it’s denial. If pointing out systemic issues makes me a ‘complainer,’ then so be it. But sugarcoating reality is how companies rot from the inside out.
It’s a mess that needs to be addressed — and not just with slide decks and reorgs. In Finance and IT especially, we’ve seen a steady wave of promotions since 2019 that often defy logic. Directors and above may be technically sharp, but many are socially inept, unable to delegate, and foster cultures of exclusion. Ageism is alive and well. Band 6 is bloated with mid-level managers chasing optics and process instead of outcomes. The actual workers? They’re the first to go.
The union workforce isn’t off the hook either — inefficiencies there are often ignored, while non-union teams take the hits. It’s selective accountability, not real transformation.
And let’s be honest: Verizon never truly transformed after Ivan Seidenberg stepped down. Since then, leadership has behaved like trust fund children — inheriting a legacy operation and assuming the car was on cruise control. But the market has changed, and coasting doesn’t cut it anymore.
If there’s going to be a reset, it needs to start with structural honesty — across all layers. But good luck teaching old dogs new tricks.
Verizon has 50% fat. More room to prune. Unfortunately higher ups axe the working guys. 1 working 5 managing at band 6. Band 6 needs to be trimmed heavily.
It’s a blessing being on a team working directly for a 2nd level some org structures seem to skip every other rung. But never in operations, where getting stuff done in a time sensitive manner matters.
On a brighter note we are down to 72 SVPs from over 90 just a year ago.
You think that's the fat? That fat is at the senior levels. There are like 300+ band 4s and up. (VPs).
If Hans is making 20M and his EVP direct reports are at 8M, what do you think the SVPs and regular old VPs make?
They are on the yes man gravy train and are the reason stuff doesn't get done. Its like Congress.
@OP Right on spot. I have never seen any company with so many AD and Directors and they have only very few direct/indirect reports.. I don't wish anyone gets laid-off. But this is very absurd.
There should never be any more than 5 layers between a 1st level manager and the CEO. If there is, then the CEO is too far from the customer and his management team. This is a European and Asian thing. Jobs for the sake of jobs.
This post is very true. I have worked on self-sufficient teams in that each member attended calls for the "manager", handled escalations and were worked directly with the VP to get issues resolved. Too many layers of management! If one is doing the work without ANY supervision or support, even creating PowerPoints and flow charts, why is an AD or ED even necessary?
Are you one of those that believe that YOU should be the boss and it will fix all the ills of Verizon? We have enough complainers in upper management already. You are not a change agent you are just jealous.