AT&T Will Cut 3,400 Jobs, Shut Down 250 Stores

The AT&T and Cricket Wireless retail store closures will account for the loss of 1,300 jobs, while the other layoffs will affect technical and clerical workers, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) — a union representing the company’s employees — said in a statement.

The wireless carrier told Forbes in an emailed statement that the store closures had been planned, but were accelerated by the pandemic and added that most store employees will be offered another job with AT&T, .

Laid-off workers will receive “severance incentives up to nearly $100,000” and company-provided healthcare for six months, the statement added.

In its statement, the CWA claimed that the job cuts were a signal that AT&T had acquiesced to demands laid out by activist fund Elliott Management which had disclosed a $3.2 billion stake in the company last year.

The company said it will cut more non-payroll workers, a majority of whom are outside the United States, than managers or union-represented employees.

The announcement of the layoffs takes place ahead of the company CEO Randall Stephenson’s planned exit next month.