A layoff announcement, a store transfer and a union surplus letter can all put a Verizon job at risk. They come with different deadlines and protections.
For an employee sorting through the headlines, the useful questions are specific: which roles are affected, when does employment end, and what does the paperwork promise?
Latest update (as of October 9, 2026)
The latest confirmed corporate layoff announcement was July 16. September union surplus declarations and an earlier New Jersey WARN filing set separation dates for this month. Their dates are still upcoming as of October 9.
- October 16, 2026: scheduled effective date for 282 Basking Ridge positions in a New Jersey WARN entry posted in July 2026 for Verizon Corp Resources Group LLC.
- October 11, 2026: scheduled New York off-payroll date for accepted Special EIPP buyouts. The September 10 declaration covered 27 titles in force adjustment areas 1 to 6; the written election deadline was October 2 (CWA Local 1101).
- October 10, 2026: scheduled final employment date for accepted volunteers under IBEW Local 2324's September 10 Massachusetts surplus notice. It lists 33 surplus positions in Springfield, Hatfield and Pittsfield; elections were due October 2. Surplus positions are not a count of completed buyouts.
- July 31, 2026: Verizon's Q2 10-Q recorded a $397 million severance charge for workforce reduction initiatives in Q2 2026, with $959 million of severance still owed at June 30.
- July 16, 2026: Verizon announced about 500 corporate job cuts and plans to sell 274 company-owned stores to franchise operators, with the transfer scheduled for August 16. It said the combined changes affect roughly 3,000 employees.
Verizon layoffs timeline: 2023 to 2026
The timeline separates layoff announcements, union surpluses and accounting disclosures. A severance charge is an expense, not an additional employee count.
| Date | What happened | Scale | Who and where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2026 | Union surplus declared under Article G25; buyout offers | 33 surplus positions; completed buyout count not published | Springfield, Hatfield and Pittsfield, Massachusetts; election deadline October 2; accepted volunteers' final employment date scheduled October 10 | IBEW Local 2324 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | Third-quarter surplus declared by Verizon New York, Verizon Services Corp. and Empire City Subway; Special EIPP offers | 27 job titles; exit headcount not published | New York force adjustment areas 1 to 6; election deadline October 2; off-payroll date scheduled October 11 | CWA Local 1101 |
| Jul 16, 2026 | Corporate layoffs announced alongside plans to sell 274 company-owned stores to franchise operators | About 500 corporate jobs; roughly 3,000 employees affected in total, including store staff | Corporate roles; retail transfer scheduled for August 16, 2026 | Reuters, Fast Company |
| Jun 29, 2026 | Verizon 8-K flags a Q2 severance charge from "continued headcount reduction initiatives" | $350M to $450M expected; $397M recorded in the Q2 10-Q | Not broken out by team or location | Verizon 8-K |
| May 7, 2026 | Targeted cuts confirmed to Business Insider | "Several hundred," under 1% of headcount | Smaller business units; largest share at the Basking Ridge, New Jersey headquarters | Business Insider |
| Nov 20, 2025 | Elimination of more than 13,000 positions announced in a CEO memo and an 8-K | $1.6B to $1.8B severance charge expected; over 80% of affected employees expected to leave in December 2025 | Across the company; 179 stores sold to franchise operators and one closed that month | Verizon 8-K, Verizon newsroom, Reuters |
| Nov 4, 2025 | Fourth-quarter union surplus declared; Special EIPP buyout offers | Headcount not published; 15 job titles | New York; off payroll December 14, 2025 | CWA Local 1101 |
| Jun 2024 to Mar 2025 | Voluntary separation program for select U.S. management employees | About 4,800 expected departures; $1.7B to $1.9B charge expected in the September 2024 disclosure | Over half expected to leave by the end of September 2024, the rest by March 2025 | Verizon 8-K |
| 2023 | Involuntary separations under existing severance plans | $533 million net severance charge reported in the 2023 filing | New Jersey WARN filings in Basking Ridge: 183 (effective August 2023) and 80 (effective early 2024) | Verizon 10-K 2023, NJ DOL 2023 list |
| May 2023 | Customer-service restructuring described to employees on a call, reported by CRN | Layoff count not disclosed; more than 6,000 attended the call, which is not a layoff total | Customer-service employees; severance or applications for other roles discussed | CRN |
Full-time-equivalent headcount fell by about 15,500 between the end of 2023 and the end of 2025. That net change is not a count of layoffs: hiring, voluntary departures and other workforce changes also affect headcount.
Verizon layoffs November 2025
The 13,000+ announcement belongs to November 20, 2025. The 2024 event was a separate management buyout. The November announcement date also differs from individual separation dates, including January and February 2026 WARN dates below.
Verizon layoffs May 2026
Business Insider reported several hundred cuts on May 7, under 1% of Verizon's headcount. The largest share was at Basking Ridge, but the report did not provide an exact total or a complete site list.
Verizon layoffs July 2026
The July 16 announcement combined about 500 corporate layoffs with a retail transfer. Roughly 3,000 employees were affected across both changes; that does not mean 3,000 people lost employment. Verizon told Reuters that about 70% of employees in previous store sales joined the new operators, without guaranteeing the same outcome for this group.
Verizon WARN notices by state
WARN notices are the closest thing to a public receipt for a layoff. They are also incomplete by design.
The table records notice counts and scheduled effective dates, not proof that every listed separation occurred. It is not a national layoff total. This section is general information, not legal advice.
| State | Site and entity | Employees | Notice | Effective date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon Corp Resources Group LLC) | 282 | Posted July 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 | NJ DOL 2026 list |
| WA | Various Washington locations (Verizon) | 54 | Notice date Jul 16, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | WARNTracker record |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon Corp Resources Group LLC) | 35 | Posted June 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | NJ DOL 2026 list |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon Corp Resources Group LLC) | 156 | Posted June 2026 | Aug 7, 2026 | NJ DOL 2026 list |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon) | 121 | Posted May 2026 | Aug 7, 2026 | NJ DOL 2026 list |
| WA | Various Washington locations (Verizon) | 165 | Notice date Nov 21, 2025 | Jan 23, 2026 | WARNTracker record |
| CA | Irvine, 15505 Sand Canyon Ave. (Verizon) | 139 | Received Nov 21, 2025 | Jan 23, 2026 | California EDD 2025-26 report |
| CA | Walnut Creek, 2770 Shadelands Dr. (Verizon) | 54 | Received Nov 21, 2025 | Jan 23, 2026 | California EDD 2025-26 report |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon) | 1,319 | Posted November 2025 | Feb 20, 2026 | NJ DOL 2025 list |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon) | 50 | Posted September 2024 | Dec 31, 2024 | NJ DOL 2024 list |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon Corp. Resources Group LLC and other Verizon affiliates) | 80 | Posted November 2023 | Jan 27 and Feb 10, 2024 | NJ DOL 2023 list |
| NJ | Basking Ridge (Verizon Corp. Resources Group and other Verizon affiliates) | 183 | Posted June 2023 | Aug 26, 2023 | NJ DOL 2023 list |
New Jersey publishes posting months rather than exact receipt dates. California's two notices were dated November 20 and received November 21, 2025. The Washington rows rely on the linked secondary databases rather than transcriptions of the original letters. Their notice dates should not be treated as independently verified state receipt dates.
The November 2025 notice entries total 1,677 positions across New Jersey, Washington and California. The entries issued or posted in 2026 total 648: 594 in New Jersey and 54 in Washington. These are notice totals, not additional layoffs to add to the announced national rounds.
Why Verizon is cutting jobs
Dan Schulman, a Verizon board member since 2018, became CEO in October 2025, according to Reuters. His November 20 memo to employees put the cost problem bluntly:
"Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition."
The pieces of the plan, as Verizon and credible reporting describe them:
- A $5 billion cost target. On the January 30, 2026 earnings call, Schulman said Verizon planned to reduce operating expenses by $5 billion in 2026, with a substantial portion from headcount reductions (Verizon earnings transcript).
- Less outside labor. The November 2025 8-K says the cost program includes "a significant reduction in outsourced, contracted and other outside labor expense."
- Fewer company-owned stores. Verizon sold 179 stores to franchise operators in November 2025 and agreed in July 2026 to sell 274 more. It said the planned transfer would leave about 1,000 company-owned stores; franchise partners operated about 5,000 outlets at the time of the July announcement, Reuters reported.
- Acquisitions and carve-outs. Verizon closed its purchase of Frontier on January 20, 2026, and booked $396 million of acquisition and integration charges in the first half of 2026. In June 2026 it agreed to fold its international wireline and managed network services business into a 50/50 venture with BT Group. The same June filing said "continued headcount reduction initiatives" would bring a Q2 severance charge of $350 million to $450 million.
- AI, with a caveat. Verizon told Business Insider that AI was not behind the May 2026 cuts. That statement applies to that round, not every workforce change.
Verizon attributes the reductions to a cost and organizational overhaul. Its CEO says the existing cost structure limits investment in customers. That explanation does not establish which individual roles will be affected next.
Management vs. union employees: who can be cut, and how
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represented about 27% of Verizon's employees at the end of 2025, according to its 10-K. Major agreements covering Verizon, Verizon Wireless Retail and Verizon Wireless Tech were extended to August 3, 2030 after ratification on March 27, 2026. Other bargaining agreements have different terms; the 27% figure does not mean every union employee has the same contract.
The New York September notice attributes the surplus to a process change and says FAP Articles 8(b) and 10 do not apply in this case. A steward can explain how those exclusions affect the options under the applicable agreement.
| Question | Management (non-union) employees | CWA and IBEW members |
|---|---|---|
| How cuts arrive | Involuntary layoffs (November 2025, May 2026, July 2026) and voluntary separation programs (2024) | Contract-specific surplus procedures, such as New York's FAP and Massachusetts Article G25, with voluntary buyout offers |
| Notice you get | A WARN notice where thresholds are met: 60 days under federal law, 90 days under New Jersey law | A surplus letter and the offer's election window; the cited September 2026 New York and Massachusetts elections were due October 2 |
| Other possible outcomes | For covered New Jersey events, four extra weeks of pay on top of statutory severance if the employer gives less than 90 days' notice | IBEW Local 2324 warns a surplus may require involuntary permanent reassignment to another title at lower pay, or to a location that requires moving |
| Contract term | No collective bargaining agreement; company plans, separation terms and applicable law govern | Major agreements extended to August 3, 2030; the Mid-Atlantic agreement includes at least 850 new technician hires over its term |
A union card changes the process, but the actual agreement determines the protection. Confirm the applicable title, service date, surplus procedure and reassignment terms with the local before relying on a general statement about Verizon union jobs.
Verizon severance and benefits: what is documented
- Pre-tax severance charges: about $1.7 billion in each of 2024 and 2025 in the 2025 10-K's management discussion, and $397 million in Q2 2026 in the 10-Q. These are accounting charges, not payments to each employee.
- Verizon paid $1.1 billion of severance in the first half of 2026 and reported a remaining liability of $959 million at June 30, 2026, including future contractual payments (10-Q).
- New Jersey law: for covered mass layoffs, the employer must pay one week of pay for each full year of employment, plus four extra weeks if it gives less than 90 days' notice. Employees get the statutory amount or contract severance, whichever is greater.
- Union buyouts: employees in surplus titles who accept a Special EIPP offer leave the company with payments set by Verizon's union agreements (the 2016 and 2022 memorandums cited in CWA Local 1101's surplus letters).
- Retraining: Verizon announced a $20 million Reskilling and Career Transition Fund. Its opt-in alumni programs include LHH outplacement, Udemy Business, Big Interview and Skill Forward. The December 2026 availability date on the page applies specifically to Skill Forward for eligible U.S. alumni.
- Rehiring: in May 2026, Verizon said affected employees could apply for its more than 1,000 open U.S. roles (Business Insider).
A forum formula may describe an older program or a single person's offer. Check the separation agreement, benefits summary, union contract if applicable, and governing law. This page is general information, not legal advice. An employment lawyer or union representative can help assess disputed terms before a release is signed.
Verify the formula in the actual offer and the applicable legal minimum. Covered New Jersey employees receive statutory or contractual severance, whichever is greater; the amounts are not automatically added together.
What Verizon employees are saying (unverified)
These are anonymous or self-reported accounts, not independently verified employment records. Conflicting posts cannot establish another layoff round.
- Buyout offers for union "craft" employees. Recent posts on TheLayoff.com's Verizon board describe a retirement or buyout offer for craft employees, with several posters saying their applications were denied and others asking about off-payroll timing and unused vacation.
- Mixed signals for managers. Posters disagree about whether more cuts are planned and discuss an October 8 transformation meeting. Those interpretations do not establish an announced layoff.
- Outsourcing and pay changes. Recurring complaints cover outsourcing of network and other work, and changes to an employee stock program's vesting schedule.
- Long service. A Reddit poster describes losing a Verizon job after about 30 years. The account is self-reported.
Look for a Verizon statement, an SEC filing, a WARN notice, a union document or independently verified reporting. An anonymous post is a question to raise with HR or a steward, not evidence that an offer or separation date applies to a particular employee.
If you were laid off from Verizon: first steps
Hi [Name], Before I sign my separation documents, could you confirm the following in writing? 1. My last day on payroll and my separation date. 2. How my severance is calculated (weeks per year of service and any cap), and whether New Jersey statutory severance applies to me. 3. What happens to my short-term incentive, unvested equity and unused vacation. 4. When my medical, dental and vision coverage ends, and whether any COBRA premium is subsidized. 5. My eligibility for the Reskilling and Career Transition Fund programs, and the enrollment deadline. 6. Whether I can apply for open Verizon roles, and whether I am eligible for rehire. 7. How many days I have to review and sign the release. [Union members, add:] Which title and work location I would be assigned if I decline the Special EIPP offer, and at what pay. Thank you, [Your name]
After a Verizon layoff, handle the Verizon-specific deadlines first (release review, Special EIPP elections, WARN and New Jersey severance rights, reskilling enrollment), then start the job search with a resume that translates Verizon titles into the target employer's language.
Will there be more Verizon layoffs?
No date or headcount for another company-wide round was found in filings or major reporting reviewed through October 9, 2026.
The cost program continues. On the January 2026 earnings call, Schulman described further expense reductions in 2027 and 2028. Business Insider reported in May that CFO Anthony Skiadas also expected cost reductions beyond 2026. Neither statement gives a schedule for another layoff or establishes that savings will all come from employees.
Continued cost cutting makes workforce changes possible. It does not confirm a rumored layoff date. Check for a company announcement, a relevant WARN notice or a notice from the applicable union local.
- 01The November 2025 announcement, May and July 2026 cuts, retail transfers and union surpluses describe different workforce changes. There is no verified national 2026 layoff total.
- 02As of October 9, scheduled dates remain October 10 for accepted Massachusetts volunteers, October 11 for accepted New York buyouts and October 16 for the 282-position New Jersey WARN entry.
- 03Union protections depend on the actual agreement. A surplus may lead to a buyout or reassignment; it does not mean every union job is guaranteed.
- 04Check severance, benefits and alumni program eligibility against the offer and applicable law. Contact the state unemployment agency promptly after employment ends.
Is Verizon laying off in October 2026?
No new company-wide round was found through October 9, 2026. Existing notices schedule accepted Massachusetts volunteers' final employment date for October 10, accepted New York buyouts' off-payroll date for October 11, and 282 Basking Ridge positions in New Jersey effective October 16. The union election deadlines were October 2.
How many employees has Verizon laid off in 2026?
No complete national total is available in the cited sources. Confirmed announcements include several hundred cuts in May and about 500 corporate jobs in July. The roughly 3,000 employees affected by July's combined corporate and retail changes are not all confirmed layoffs. WARN counts can overlap announced rounds, and surplus positions do not establish completed buyout totals.
Did Verizon lay off 13,000 employees in 2024 or 2025?
The 13,000+ announcement was November 20, 2025. The 8-K expected over 80% of affected employees to leave in December 2025. The separate 2024 voluntary separation program involved about 4,800 management employees, with departures expected through March 2025.
Does Verizon give severance?
Yes, but the cited filings do not establish one uniform formula for recent employee rounds. Check the offer, applicable law and union agreement. Covered New Jersey employees receive one week of pay per full year of service, or contractual severance if greater, with four additional weeks for insufficient notice. Union surplus offers have contract-specific payment terms.
Are Verizon union employees being laid off?
Verizon declared union job surpluses in New York and Massachusetts in September 2026, with voluntary buyout offers. The Massachusetts notice also warns of possible permanent reassignment at lower pay or to another location. The notices do not establish how many employees ultimately departed, and protections vary by agreement.
What happened with the Verizon layoffs in July 2026?
On July 16, 2026, Verizon said it would cut about 500 corporate jobs and sell 274 company-owned stores to franchise operators, effective August 16. Verizon said the changes affect roughly 3,000 employees in total and that it would own about 1,000 stores afterward.
What happened with the Verizon layoffs in May 2026?
On May 7, Business Insider reported several hundred cuts, under 1% of Verizon's headcount, with the largest share at Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Verizon attributed that round to organizational changes and said AI was not the cause.
Where can I find Verizon WARN notices?
The table links eight New Jersey entries, two California entries and two Washington records for notices from 2023 to 2026. The New Jersey and California counts were checked against state reports; the Washington rows are supported by secondary databases. Absence from a state list does not prove that no layoffs occurred there.
Will there be more Verizon layoffs?
No further company-wide round was found through October 9, 2026. Verizon has described cost reductions beyond 2026, but those plans do not establish another layoff date or headcount. Anonymous predictions remain unverified.
Prepared by Careery Team
Researching Job Market & Building AI Tools for careerists · since December 2020
- 01Verizon Form 8-K, November 20, 2025: workforce reduction of over 13,000 positions and severance charge (SEC)
- 02Verizon Form 8-K, September 12, 2024: voluntary separation program for about 4,800 management employees (SEC)
- 03Verizon Form 10-K for 2025: headcount, union representation and severance charges (SEC)
- 04Verizon Form 10-K for 2024: headcount at December 31, 2024 (SEC)
- 05Verizon Form 10-K for 2023: headcount and 2023 severance charges (SEC)
- 06Verizon Form 10-Q for Q2 2026: severance charges, payments and remaining liability (SEC)
- 07Verizon Form 8-K, January 20, 2026: completion of the Frontier acquisition (SEC)
- 08Verizon Form 8-K, June 29, 2026: joint venture with BT Group (SEC)
- 09Building a stronger Verizon: Dan Schulman's memo to employees (Verizon News Center)
- 10Reskilling program for departing employees (Verizon)
- 11US wireless carrier Verizon to sell 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees (Reuters via Investing.com)
- 12Verizon layoffs today: more jobs slashed as wireless giant moves to sell retail stores to franchisees (Fast Company)
- 13Verizon cuts several hundred US workers months after slashing 13,000 jobs (Business Insider)
- 14CWA Members Ratify Verizon Contracts, April 2, 2026 (Communications Workers of America)
- 15Summary of Tentative Agreement between CWA District 2-13, District 1 NJ and Verizon Mid-Atlantic, March 2026 (PDF)
- 162026 Summary of Agreement in Principle between CWA and Verizon: Frontier (CWA District 1)
- 17Verizon 3Q surplus announcement, September 10, 2026 (CWA Local 1101)
- 18Verizon 4Q surplus declaration, November 4, 2025 (CWA Local 1101)
- 19Verizon surplus declared under Article G25, September 10, 2026 (IBEW Local 2324)
- 202026 WARN notices (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development PDF)
- 212025 WARN notices (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development PDF)
- 222024 WARN notices (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development PDF)
- 232023 WARN notices (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development PDF)
- 24WARN report, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 (California Employment Development Department PDF)
- 25WARN notice search (Washington State Employment Security Department)
- 26New Jersey WARN law as amended in 2023, N.J.S.A. 34:21-1 et seq. (NJ Department of Labor PDF)
- 27A Worker's Guide to Advance Notice of Closings and Layoffs (U.S. Department of Labor PDF)
- 28Unemployment Insurance Program Fact Sheet (U.S. Department of Labor PDF)
- 29Verizon Q4 2025 earnings call, January 30, 2026: expense reduction targets (Verizon transcript PDF)
- 30Verizon executive overhaul: chief network officer departure, October 7, 2026 (SDxCentral)
- 31Verizon Form 8-K, September 29, 2026: board appointment (SEC)
- 32Verizon layoffs loom for customer service employees, May 2023 (CRN)
- 33Verizon Washington WARN record: 54 positions, notice July 16, 2026 (WARNTracker; secondary database)
- 34Verizon WARN records effective January 23, 2026, including 165 Washington positions (WARNTracker; secondary database)
- 35WARN dashboard and 2026 public data (New York Department of Labor)
- 36COBRA coverage and Marketplace options (HealthCare.gov)
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