T-Mobile completed its acquisition of Sprint in April this year. It also immediately started deploying mid-band 5G using Sprint's 2.5GHz network. T-Mobile plans to use Sprint's network to deploy mid-band 5G across the U.S. While the Un-carrier requires Sprint's network, it does not need its employees. In a conference call on Monday earlier this week, T-Mobile's VP James Kirby told hundreds of Sprint employees that their services were no longer needed. He did not answer any of the questions from the employees and ended the call, all within six minutes.
As per the TechCrunch report, there were over 400 employees in the conference call during which T-Mobile's VP announced that Sprint's inside sales unit (BISO), which caters to small businesses, will be removed entirely. While T-Mobile has announced layoffs across various other Sprint divisions as well, the BISO unit was the one that was the hardest hit. The move will open up around 200 positions at T-Mobile which Kirby encouraged the employees that are being laid off to apply for.
All the employees removed by T-Mobile will still have their jobs for another two months until August 13. Their severance package will include two weeks of pay for every year on the job. The layoff does not seem to have affected any T-Mobile employee or unit.
Ironically, T-Mobile had touted increased jobs as one of the benefits of its merger with Sprint in an open letter written last year by the company's then CEO John Legere. The Un-carrier is doing the exact opposite here and at the worst time possible, during an ongoing pandemic.
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