Sprint layoffs include 452 jobs at its Kansas headquarters

Sprint Corp. has announced that 452 of its job cuts will occur at its headquarters, located in Overland Park, Kansas, according to a recent filing made with the Kansas Department of Commerce – bringing local cuts to more than 900 this year.

In March, Sprint eliminated 477 employees in Overland Park, which would make the local total this year approximately 929.

The company recently said that there would be downsizing, however, the number of jobs that will be eliminated is not yet specified.

The report does not mention any layoffs outside the headquarters campus, however, they are thought to be happening too.

The Sprint World Headquarters Campus is a collection of 17 buildings encompassing 3,900,000-square-foot (360,000 m2) on 200 acres in Overland Park, Kansas. 

Sprint is the third-largest American wireless carrier after Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. The company has a total workforce of around 33,000, down from 36,000 at the end of March and down from 38,000 at the end of last year.

The decision to cut Sprint’s workforce is an attempt to build a leaner business – during a time of increased price competition. Marcelo Claure, who became Sprint’s new chief executive in August, said the company is reviewing every dollar spent to try and cut costs.

Berge Ayvazian, an industry consultant at UBM Tech, said:

“Claure’s big push is to reduce costs so they can be the most cost efficient operator and compete effectively on price,”

“There are a lot of layers of people who seem to pad the Sprint payroll,” added Ayvazian. “It’s a matter of how deep and how much you want to cut costs.”

In an October 3rd regultory filing, Sprint said that the job reduction will result in a $160 million expense for severance and other costs in the fiscal second quarter.

In an e-mail, Scott Sloat, a spokesman for Sprint, confirmed that there will be 452 job cuts in Overland Park. He said that the company is still revising the details of the reductions, and the exact number of cuts may be revised later this month or in early November.

Mr Sloat said:

“We are still working through the details so exact numbers and locations are not available at this time”