Sprint boosts severance costs by $105 million as job cuts expand

Layoffs and other job cutbacks at Sprint Corp. will cost the company $105 million more in severance and related costs than it originally expected.

Sprint updated the cost total in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It said the new costs have been added to the $160 million that it previously said would be recorded in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.

Layoffs that began in October are being followed by voluntary buyout offers and more layoffs if necessary to eliminate a total of 3,700 jobs from the company’s payroll, or about 11 percent of its total employment.

The company’s newly appointed chief executive, Marcelo Claure, said this week that the cutbacks, though difficult, were necessary to help the wireless company compete.

Sprint has been losing its most valuable customers, those who traditionally sign two-year phone service contracts, to other carriers. Claure said Sprint’s recently introduced shared-data family plans and unlimited-data plans for individuals had fared better at attracting new customers.

The job cuts, when complete, will leave the Overland Park-based carrier with about 29,000 employees. It currently has about 31,000, including 6,800 in the Kansas City area.

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Sprint boosts severance costs by $105 million as job cuts expand."