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Telecom, IT Layoff Tracker: AT&T, West’s Surprise, Broadcom

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Amid reports of strong growth in the IT job market, companies in the channel have been shedding workers as part of cost-cutting efforts and/or business transformation.

Displaced workers likely are finding new opportunities. The IT sector closed out 2018 with a total of 83,500 new jobs, far outpacing 2017, according to Janco Associates. However, the telecommunications sector continued to shed jobs throughout the year.

Meanwhile, IT and telecom layoffs continue to grab headlines on a regular basis.

Scroll through our layoff tracker below for a recap of cuts that occurred during the second half of 2018 and the start of 2019 at AT&T, Qualcomm, CA Technologies, Cisco and more.

AT&T cuts
AT&T

AT&T workers faced an unnerving start to the new year as the telco reportedly is gearing up for more layoffs just after the Communications Workers of America (CWA) criticized it for cutting more than 10,000 jobs last year.

AT&T leadership is planning what it’s calling a “geographic rationalization” and employment “surplus” reduction that will consolidate some aspects of AT&T operations in 10 major operational hubs, according to a Motherboard report, The states targeted for layoffs will include New York, California, Texas, New Jersey, Washington State, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, as well as Washington, D.C.

Learn more about the layoff plans here.
West cuts
West

Also in August, West, which provides UCaaS, conferencing and collaboration solutions in the channel, confirmed it was laying off nearly 150 workers in Wisconsin after a major client suddenly canceled its contract with the company.

The layoffs included 112 workers in Middleton and 36 in Green Bay. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, West’s portfolio includes UC services, safety services, interactive services such as automated notifications, telecom services and specialty agent services.

See why this news came as such a surprise.
Cisco cuts
Cisco

Cisco didn’t say much in November about a report from the U.K.’s Register about hundreds of job cuts globally, but the heaviest hit is reportedly to its customer experience (CX) team. The vendor did admit it’s making decisions about investments and resources in strategic growth areas of its business.

In the big scheme of things, that figure is a pittance of its employee base of more than 72,000 worldwide, and the vendor has slashed thousands of jobs in the not too distant past. That said, a job loss is anything but a feel-good moment to those in the line of fire. The Register report said another 10 percent of the job cuts are in the Cloud Platforms and Solutions group. The Silicon Valley Journal reported hundreds of cuts at the company’s San Jose, California, headquarters alone.

“Over the last several years, we have been transforming Cisco to deliver even greater value to our customers,” read a company statement. “We continue to make decisions to ensure that our investments and resources are aligned with strategic growth areas of the business.”

Learn more about Cisco's cuts.
CA Technologies
CA Technologies/Broadcom

CA Technologies in November handed pink slips to hundreds of employees two days after Broadcom took ownership of the company.

CA workers in Islandia and Manhattan, New York, first reported that Broadcom notified them off the layoffs. The workers, some facing layoffs, said that “based on documents they received from the company, they believed more than 300 workers were losing their jobs."

Broadcom wouldn’t say how many workers are impacted by the layoffs. Terry Gault, Broadcom’s head of communications, told Channel Partners that “employees are critical to our success, and any decisions about how to best integrate our workforces are considered very carefully.

“As with any acquisition, we seek to align skills and resources to most effectively pursue today’s market opportunities,” he added. “This inevitably requires us to make reductions in staff in select areas of the company. These are difficult, but necessary decisions, and we work with impacted employees to help ensure they have appropriate services and support.”

Read more about CA's layoffs following its acquisition by Broadcom.
Symantec layoffs
Symantec

Last summer, Symantec said it planned to lay off 8 percent – or about 900 – of its 11,000-plus workers after reporting disappointing revenue and profit for its first quarter and a weak outlook for its second quarter.

The cybersecurity giant announced a set of cost-reduction moves designed to eliminate redundancies and to focus its resources on key strategic opportunities. This includes a fiscal 2019 restructuring plan with “targeted” workforce reductions.

Symantec expected to incur $50 million in costs in connection with the restructuring plan, mostly for severance and termination benefits. It expects to save about $115 million annually from the restructuring.

Learn what else drove the decision for layoffs at Symantec.
McAfee layoffs
McAfee

In July, cybersecurity vendor McAfee confirmed it had launched a new organization in charge of partner and customer management.

The news came amid reports of executive layoffs, including global channel chief Richard Steranka. A McAfee spokesman confirmed a reorganization had taken place, and that “in the spirit of keeping our partners and customers at the core of all we do,” the vendor created a new chief revenue office, comprised of corporate sales, corporate marketing and customer success.

“As part of this new organization, all corporate customer-facing functions, inclusive of the sales team from the formerly acquired SkyHIgh Networks, now report to John Giamatteo, president and chief revenue officer, a proven leader with more than 30 years experience in leading transformation at technology companies,” the spokesman said. “Most recently, Giamatteo led McAfee’s successful consumer business where, under his leadership, McAfee developed sustaining partnerships with OEMs, service providers and alliance partners to improve the consumer experience.”

Here's where to get more on the shake-up at McAfee.
F5 Networks
F5 Networks

F5 Networks laid off hundreds of employees last summer, but planned to fill hundreds of other positions as it continues to evolve to a multicloud application services company.

F5 spokesman Nathan Misner said the company “eliminated approximately 230 positions, primarily in our IT, services, product development, sales support and marketing organizations in the U.S. However, we are accelerating our hiring to support our multicloud application services strategy, with over 300 open positions worldwide in geographic sales expansion, new go-to-market motions, multicloud software development and digital transformation initiatives.”

In a securities filing, F5 said it also planned to close its Lowell, Massachusetts, office and reduce leased office space.

Read more about the changes at F5.
Xerox layoffs
Xerox

In August, Xerox confirmed layoffs across the United States and Canada as part of an effort to optimize its operations globally.

The company said there were fewer than 250 job cuts in New York state, but wouldn’t provide specific numbers. The positions included those in Xerox’s internal IT operations, including IT software engineers, systems engineers, program managers and associated support, as well as finance managers.

Xerox wouldn’t provide any further information or comment.

This is where to get more information.
Qualcomm layoffs
Qualcomm

Some 269 workers at Qualcomm last month learned they’ll lose their jobs in February. The San Diego-based company designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services.

According to notifications filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the California Employment Development Department, the layoffs affect 144 employees in Raleigh, North Carolina, and 125 employees in San Diego. The workers were notified and they will be let go in early February.

Qualcomm issued the following statement: “Qualcomm conducted a small reduction of our full-time and temporary workforce in certain areas of the company. While this activity impacts a very small percentage of our workforce, we know a workforce reduction of any size affects not only those employees who are part of the reduction, but their families, co-workers and the community. We recognize this and have offered affected employees supportive severance packages to reduce the impact of this transition on them.”

Get the full scoop on the Qualcomm cuts.
IBM cuts
IBM

IBM this month confirmed it is laying off more than 300 employees in Durham, North Carolina, in connection with the sale of a subsidiary.

According to a notice sent to the state’s Commerce Department, the 310 employees work for Seterus, a specialty loan servicing company and IBM subsidiary. The facility will shut down and the job cuts are effective March 11.

The job cuts come just days after Mr. Cooper Group agreed to buy Seterus from IBM. IBM said it acquired Seterus in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to help a client manage a broad mortgage portfolio, including high-risk loans.

IBM released the following statement: “With the successful completion of the mortgage services contract through which Seterus … helped our client manage the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, IBM has signed a definitive agreement to sell Seterus to Mr. Cooper. Based on the requirements of the sale, the Seterus … facility is being closed.”

More on the IBM layoff news can be found here.
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One comment

  1. Avatar TJ January 17, 2019 @ 8:15 pm
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    Tax cuts really paid off

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