Verizon Communications NYSE:VZ rose 1.30% intraday after the US wireless carrier said it will sell 274 company-owned stores and cut about 500 corporate jobs, deepening a restructuring under new CEO Dan Schulman. The store sale, effective August 16, will leave Verizon with roughly 1,000 company-owned locations. In all, the moves affect about 3,000 retail and corporate employees.
Verizon announced more than 13,000 job cuts in November, its largest single round, sold 179 corporate stores to franchise operators, and eliminated several hundred more jobs in May. Six large operators now run most of Verizon's franchised stores, and the company said it is working with franchise owners across 5,000 outlets.
The retrenchment comes as Verizon fights for subscribers in a saturated market against AT&T NYSE:T and T-Mobile NASDAQ:TMUS, where carriers have piled on device subsidies and plan discounts. Verizon has countered with simpler plans, dropped activation and upgrade fees, and a new loyalty program. It also joined AT&T and T-Mobile in a satellite joint venture seen as a defense against SpaceX's NASDAQ:SPCX Starlink.