Sprint Nextel, the third-largest US wireless carrier, plans to cut thousands of jobs in an attempt to reassure investors that new CEO Dan Hesse is serious about streamlining the company's operations, The Wall Street Journal, quoted by an Associated Press report, said.
The Journal report, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, said the cuts would run into the thousands of workers. The Reston-based company, with operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, laid off 5,000 employees last year to end up at around 60,000.
A Sprint spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.
The wireless carrier has struggled in the past year, falling far behind wireless rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless in attracting new subscribers and wrestling with customer service problems and sometimes ineffective marketing.
The downturn cost former CEO Gary Forsee his job. Hesse, former CEO of local telephone company and Sprint spin-off Embarq, is facing a long list of potential changes at the company, and cutting employee costs could be one of them.
Hesse has shown a stomach for employee reductions. While at Embarq, he cut staff by more than 1,200.
Besides a layoff, Hesse and his staff are considering a plan to consolidate the company's operations at its Overland Park base, the Journal reported, adding that a final decision hasn't been made.