Verizon Stock (VZ) Slumps After Announcing 3,000 Job Cuts

The stock of Verizon (VZ) is trending lower after the U.S. telecommunications firm announced that it is cutting 3,000 jobs.

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The headcount reduction is part of an ongoing corporate restructuring at Verizon. Management at Verizon, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, said that they are laying off 2,500 retail workers and 500 corporate staff as part of a company-wide downsizing of the workforce.

Additionally, Verizon is selling 274 of its corporate-owned stores to bring the total number down to about 1,000. Management also plan to restructure some departments within the company as they continues to push for cost savings under new CEO Dan Schulman. The latest round of layoffs equals about 3% of Verizon's employees based on a head count of 89,900 at the end of 2025.

Saving $5 Billion

Schulman has made cost savings a priority since he took the helm of Verizon late last year. The new CEO has said that he wants to save $5 billion in operating expenses this year. Schulman has said that a "substantial portion" of the cost savings will come from head count reductions.

Last November, Verizon eliminated 13,000 jobs, the company's largest-ever round of layoffs. A small round of staff cuts were also made this spring. Verizon is scheduled to report its second-quarter financial results on July 24 of this year.

Is VZ Stock a Buy?

Verizon's stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 16 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on five Buy and 11 Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average VZ price target of $49.89 implies 18% upside from current levels.