AT&T Is Automating Away Jobs, Targeting ~85,000 Employees by 2030
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-23
WIRED reports that AT&T, having already cut more than half its workforce over the past decade, plans continued layoffs as it prepares for the AI era, retiring legacy landline service and automating internal processes with AI. CTO Jeremy Legg says headcount won't be the same in five years, citing lower revenue per employee versus Verizon and T-Mobile.
Key figures:
- 8,000 jobs cut last year; continuing at that pace, the workforce could approach 85,000 by 2030 — a figure insiders call the company's target, though AT&T disputes it
- About 2,100 jobs cut in the first half of 2026
- Downsizing has yielded tangible benefits, including a considerable drop in electricity usage
CEO John Stankey says AT&T aims to be a "dramatically different" company by decade's end, with a "fantastic" fiber service and "kickass" wireless network. The piece reflects a broader telecom trend of trading headcount for Wall Street approval via AI automation.
More from AGI Musings
- NYT: OpenAI's Claimed Navier-Stokes Proof Shows How AI Endangers Science — joannashields · 2026-09-23
- Fields Medalist Martin Hairer: Private-Site Math Releases Undermine Scientific Standards — littmath · 2026-09-23
- Ben Todd: Blaming effective altruism is usually a sign someone doesn't want you thinking — ben_j_todd · 2026-09-23
- AI Agents Aren't People: Anthropic Blamed for Personhood Narrative Shifting Liability — gerardsans · 2026-09-23
- Gergely Orosz: one driven engineer with AI beats hundreds of AI agents — intellectronica · 2026-09-23
- Rob Leclerc: AI doomsday talk repeats the Malthusian error — tech will solve its own problems — robleclerc · 2026-09-23