BELLEVUE, Wash. — Bellevue-based T-Mobile announced Thursday it will lay off 5,000 employees, about 7% of its workforce, over the next few weeks.
In an email to employees, CEO Mike Sievert said the layoffs will begin this week and will continue over the next five weeks, impacting roles across the country. He said the impacted roles are “duplicative” and include corporate, back-office and some technology roles. They will not include retail or customer care roles.
Sievert said the organizational changes include streamlining and centralizing operations and are meant to improve efficiency and effectiveness while reducing cost.
“We can be smarter, faster, and even better at competing, by streamlining our operating model and structure to reduce the complexity,” Sievert said in the email. “This is about re-prioritizing our work and doing it differently, not about foisting more work on fewer people.”
Sievert said the company needs to move at the “speed of technology,” utilizing AI and other tools to simplify “digital experiences specifically curated for every customer.”
Those impacted should receive notification by the end of September and will receive severance, plus 60 days minimum of transition leave, which includes pay and benefits.
Sievert said he does not expect any additional widespread layoffs in the foreseeable future.
T-Mobile is headquartered in Bellevue and has corporate offices across the country.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington.