T-Mobile is planning to cut more than 100 jobs in marketing and certain other departments at its headquarters. The No 4 wireless carrier is prepping to take these steps just before its merger with MetroPCS Communications Inc (NYSE:PCS). The layoffs are expected to be carried out in their Bellevue, Washington headquarters.
T-mobile has been trimming jobs since 2011 when AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) could not acquire T-Mobile due to regulatory glitches. Three months later the network carrier decided on restructuring, and announced that it will resort to layoffs of around 1900, or about 5 percent of its workforce, primarily at customer service call centres.
There is no statement by T-Mobile as to how many jobs will be slashed after the merger with Dallas based MetroPCS Communications Inc (NYSE:PCS), but after the merger the company will have an overlapping administrative position. The telecommunications union has demanded that the jobs should be protected, and this should be the prerequisite of the merger’s regulatory approval. T-Mobile does not agree to the cries of Job protection, as the objective of the merger is to become a more competitive network and not to save money through layoffs.
“Indeed, the goal of the transaction is to grow the existing T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands and businesses and emerge as the country’s leading value provider,” lawyers for the companies said in a Feb. 21 filing with the FCC.
T-Mobile has steadily reduced the size of its workforce in recent years through restructuring and consolidation of its call centres, but largely has spared the Bellevue headquarters, where its highest-paid jobs are located. The department of Justice has given approval to T-Mobile to buy MetroPCS Communications Inc (NYSE:PCS). But the company should also get approval from the Federal Communication Commission to transfer the spectrum license. Apart from that, shareholders should also approve this merger.
Last year T-Mobile slashed as much as 4,200 jobs, including 3,300 layoffs at call centres. Later in May, another 900 jobs were trimmed in another round. However, the company said that it will hire around that number during the next year as it builds up its business sales group.
If the merger takes place, T-Mobile will be a publicly listed company. The company will then also further launch its more advanced network. T-Mobile is one of the largest employers in the Northwest employing around 4,800 employees locally, mostly in the Factoria-area headquarters and 36,000 nationally. After closing this deal, T-Mobile can provide 4G LTE wireless service across the country. MetroPCS Communications Inc (NYSE:PCS) already provides LTE services, and T-Mobile seeks to reach 100 million customers in July and total of200 million towards the end of this year.
