Verizon sets buyout price, says nearly 5,000 workers are leaving

By Claudia Assis

The communications giant is also demanding other property-related fees

Verizon Communications Inc. said Thursday it expects to take charges of $1.9 billion in the third quarter related to employee buyouts.

About 4,800 employees will leave the telecom giant by March under a voluntary severance program that Verizon (VZ) announced in June. Half of those workers will leave in September, the company said.

Verizon said it expects to record severance benefits of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, or $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion after taxes, in the third quarter.

In a February filing, Verizon said it had about 105,400 full-time employees as of December, 89% of them in the U.S.

Verizon also said it plans to discontinue some offices and retain “non-strategic portions” of some businesses as part of ongoing cost-cutting initiatives, without providing further details.

As a result, it also expects to record asset and business rationalization charges of $230 million to $380 million, or $170 million to $290 million after tax, in the quarter.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast Verizon will post adjusted net income of $1.18 per share in mid-October on sales of $33.7 billion in the third quarter.

In the third quarter of 2023, the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 on sales of $33.3 billion.

Earlier this month, Verizon announced plans to buy Frontier Communications Parent Inc. (FYBR) in a $20 billion all-cash deal, a move that positions the U.S. fiber-optic internet provider

Verizon shares have gained more than 15% this year, slightly less than the S&P 500 SPX’s gain of about 16%.

-Claudia Assis

This content was created by MarketWatch, a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-12-24 1123ET