No matter when you go "take the buyout or get riffed" the end result is the same, the goal behind the buyout is to get rid of long term "highly paid" workers. So trying to stick around and find another position in the company would probably be a waist of time for those who fall in the category they're targeting. If you don't have advanced skills "security, data science, cloud computing, programming" on top of a background in networking you will be hard pressed to find a solid position in the new VZ "basically your living on borrowed time" Finding a new position may be a little tough when you leave the company but if your skill set it aligned with what employers are looking for you should have no problem meeting or exceeding what you make/made at VZ. So many people get comfortable in a position that they become complacent, neglecting to keep enhance their skill set & when they are faced with a situation like this on they are worried about finding a new job. The fact is so many employees have been with the company so long "10,15, 20 yrs" that their pay far exceeds what the market dictates for their position - for those employees, yes you will more than likely see a significant cut in pay "for non technical & some general technical roles" but this should come as no shock: if it took you 15 yrs to make 80k at VZ doing some menial job, you can't expect to make that once you go to another company "it's possible but not very likely"
This is not the end of the world, just a change in times & technology - similar to when our country shifted from an industrial work force to a technical workforce. With all shifts, you re-tool, re-train and move forward. Best of luck!