T-Mobile lays off more than 200 Sprint employees in Kansas City area following merger
T-Mobile has laid off more than 200 employees of Sprint in Overland Park just months after the two wireless providers combined in a $26 billion merger.
A June 17 notification to state regulators shows that T-Mobile will cut 241 positions at the former headquarters of Sprint.
After a lawsuit from more than a dozen states challenging the merger, a federal judge approved the union of the two companies in February. T-Mobile officially closed on the transaction in April.
T-Mobile, based in suburban Seattle, committed to keeping a secondary headquarters in Overland Park following the merger. While most mergers result in job losses as efficiencies are realized, T-Mobile pledged the merger would create thousands of new jobs across the country.
A spokesperson told The Star the company still plans to hire for 5,000 new positions within the next year across the organization. In a statement, the company said it was looking at the entire merged company “to ensure that we focus our resources in the places where our customers need us the most.”
“As part of this process, some employees who hold similar positions are being asked to consider a career change inside the company, and others will be supported in their efforts to find a new position outside the company,” the statement said.
While T-Mobile would not share numbers, it said it would complete the process of cutting positions by the end of June. Last year, Sprint said 6,000 employees and another 1,500 contractors worked at its Overland Park campus.
Sprint had long been one of the largest employers in the Kansas City area. Its union with T-Mobile was controversial, as consumer advocates warned it would limit competition and jobs advocates predicted it would result in the loss of thousands of jobs. The Communication Workers of America labor union predicted the merger could cost as many as 30,000 jobs as retail stores consolidate across the country.
But the two companies argued the merger was the only way either one could compete with its larger rivals AT&T and Verizon.
“Our goal is to position T-Mobile for success as a growth company for the long-term, and focus more than ever on our customers,” said T-Mobile’s statement. “Our talented and expanding team is our strength, and aligning our team members’ work against our priorities is essential for T-Mobile to remain a fast-moving and competitive growth company.”
