Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

@tum+1mEKK3a9

Good points, though if I reduce the cash situation to the personal level, I wonder whether a bank would characterize my balance sheet as "strong" if I had $173,000 in cash while carrying a million eight (over ten times) in debt.

That's arguably within reason for a company trying to get regain its telecomm mojo lost under the previous CEO.

With all these good numbers, why do this now? Why chase off your most productive employees? Legg, the No. 2 (effectively, as McElfresh seems out the picture) is based in Atlanta. Last time I checked, that is remote from Dallas. So if he isn't down the hall or an elevator ride away, why should the rest of us be?

What about our colleagues in the IST time zone, the folks for whom get up at 5 am to—what's the word? Oh yeah—collaborate? That's not a practice I would continue if I have to travel to an office at four in the morning, so why make this change?

I'll tell you why: because the 15% of us affected are generally older long-tenured employees with a high pay. For us, relocation is not just packing up a U-Haul and driving out. As a group we skew old, so old that the Age Discrimination act comes into the picture. In past layoffs at Legacy T, I was handed a sheet showing the anonymized ages of the laid off employees just to make sure the force reduction met ADEA requirements.

By dropping the hammer on the 15% remote, problem solved. Costly but productive aging workers out replaced by cheaper, less experienced talent or offshore (as in very remote) low cost backfills.

The erosion in company performance from the loss of senior people will be compensated by all those high salaries coming off the books.

At least that's the hope. To date Wall Street has been unimpressed by moves made by current leadership. Activists like Elliott Investors came, and went, all while those holding stock in this company are seeing consistent year-over-year declines in value not met by the dividend.

Take all the talk of "Purpose" (with a capital P!) and culture with a grain of salt. This is actually breaking the culture that stood as a model for a new way to work even before the pandemic proved it to the world. Too bad you didn't try to promote or monetize that. A hundred million office workers with must-have VPN home connections would have been a nice chunk of change. (Way better than the "subway mini-episodes" of Game of Thrones proposed to HBO by our current leader back when he was head of Entertainment.)

Maybe Wall Street will believe you, this time. Maybe.

This move gets around that. We cannot as a group complain about age-based layoff until it happens, and the company has a solid backup in offering the job

yeah but no cash flow. the financial health of a company is usually expressed in the net profit margin which is currently -13.34% y|y with a net income of -12.10% y/y. eps also down -22.07% y/y.

lol i didnt become a millionaire working at ATT. i became a millionaire investing in good strong growth companies and T wasnt one of them. at best its a day traders stock.

all this may change with good vision and execution but im not seeing it in my area.

AT&T has been on the decline simply because of schizophrenic leadership. We were a software/tech company(not really, but Donovan and the VPs he brought didn't think placing fiber and cell site equipment was se-y enough), an entertainment company (wildly successful foray into satellite TV) all because the Randall's were jealous of tech companies using our pipes and didn't want to be the mere supplier of broadband access even though it "was" the core competency. This is what happens when you 1. you ki-l innovation - innovation that could accelerate delivery (build) and better target where to deliver. 2. Make decisions based on jealousy and have a track record of cutting(jobs) in hopes to appease investors - Institutional Investors look for innovation and long term growth.

OMG, here we go again! AT&T is the worst! Pillars? You've got to be kidding me. I think I gotta pu-e!

A declining brand reputation: AT&T's brand reputation has been declining in recent years. In a recent survey, AT&T was ranked as the worst major wireless carrier in the United States. This decline in brand reputation is making it more difficult for AT&T to attract and retain customers.
A lack of innovation: AT&T has been criticized for its lack of innovation in recent years. The company has been slow to adopt new technologies, such as 5G and fiber optic internet. This lack of innovation is making it more difficult for AT&T to compete with other companies.

T continues to drain the wireless business which made up >50% of the profits, and feed that money into other butterflies and unicorns, while neglecting the wireless side of the business. Its been happening for over a decade and continues to this day, that's why T is no longer a leader in the wireless space. But we had Game of Thrones !

I hear everyone is back in the office for corroboration purposes. This is Awesome, break room chats , the interruptions to work, the afternoon lunch walks, and best of all, my computer will stay at work!. Those hours of commute time each way which to be honest, I would be tied to my computer working before 8am and after 5pm, and working on my PC during lunch break. All that is now resolved. I get my personal life back. and T now only has my attention from 9a-5p only. Also think of all the gasoline and carbon loading added back into the environment by forcing people back into their cars to commute daily. What? Carbon credits and green initiatives only count when the regulators are making money at it? LOL .
Want to really see efficiency go down . Drag everyone back into the office. Of course if you are looking for excuses to give your boss regarding how you are not meeting goals. Of course blame it on not being able to come into an office. not your lack of skill sets in managing your work. Epic Fail.

They Followed in AOL's footsteps and strapped their financial future to TW. Wither the vine.

@tum+1mEKK3a9

The investors along with most sane people are clearly not drinking the same kool-aide you are. There's just no way to spin the factual performance into a positive story.

On the flip side, what it's doing well:

Strong wireless business: AT&T's wireless business is its strongest segment. In the first quarter of 2023, AT&T added 691,000 wireless subscribers, which was more than Verizon and T-Mobile. AT&T's wireless business is benefiting from the growth of 5G, as well as from its strong brand reputation.
Growing fiber business: AT&T's fiber business is also growing. In the first quarter of 2023, AT&T added 145,000 fiber subscribers. AT&T's fiber business is benefiting from the growing demand for high-speed internet.
Cost savings: AT&T has been taking steps to reduce costs. In the first quarter of 2023, AT&T's cost savings initiatives saved the company $600 million. These cost savings are helping AT&T to improve its profitability.
Strong balance sheet: AT&T has a strong balance sheet. In the first quarter of 2023, AT&T had $17.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents. This strong balance sheet gives AT&T the financial flexibility to invest in its business and to return capital to shareholders.
Overall, AT&T is performing well because of its strong wireless business, growing fiber business, cost savings initiatives, and strong balance sheet. The company is well-positioned for continued growth in the future.

Here are some additional details about AT&T's financial performance in the first quarter of 2023:

Revenue: $29.7 billion, up 1.4% year-over-year
Earnings per share: $0.79, up 2.6% year-over-year
Subscribers:
Wireless: 179.3 million, up 0.6% year-over-year
Fiber: 3.6 million, up 14.2% year-over-year
Debt: $163.7 billion, down 0.2% year-over-year
Cash and cash equivalents: $17.3 billion, up 0.3% year-over-year