T-Mobile USA is reportedly set for a round of job cuts ahead of its planned acquisition of MetroPCS, with more than 100 jobs expected to be slashed beginning today. The Seattle Times is reporting that the cuts are likely to come from T-Mobile USA’s marketing department as well as other groups.
T-Mobile USA, which currently employs around 36,000 people, announced last year plans to merge with MetroPCS in a deal that will see T-Mobile USA parent company Deutsche Telekom reduce its holdings in the new operations to around 75%. That deal looks to have moved one step closer to fruition as the Department of Justice this week let pass a deadline to raise concerns over the proposed deal.
The Communications Workers of America claimed late last year that the proposed T-Mobile USA/MetroPCS deal could end up costing 10,000 U.S. jobs. The union, which claims to represent more than 700,000 workers across the telecommunications space, cited “outsourcing” moves by MetroPCS, including “its entire customer care, billing, payment processing and logistics operations, and a number of its vendor call centers are located in countries such as Mexico, Antigua, Panama and the Philippines.”
The CWA also noted that T-Mobile USA has announced plans to close seven of its 24 domestic call centers, impacting 3,300 employees. The company later added 900 more job cuts to the list, though it later clarified that those cuts would amount to just 350 net cuts as it planned to hire 550 new positions in the Puget Sound, Wash., area.
T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS both reported difficult fourth quarters, highlighting the increased competition in the prepaid space that both operators continue to focus on.
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