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  • Profits just keep rolling in at T-Mobile US

    From JAB@21:1/5 to All on Sun Aug 27 11:07:15 2023
    Profits just keep rolling in at T-Mobile US. So only thing to do is
    axe 5,000 workers

    T-Mobile US will lay off roughly 5,000 employees, or about seven
    percent of its workforce, over the next five weeks, the wireless
    carrier revealed in a recent regulatory filing.
    ...
    ...
    The layoffs come just weeks after the Un-carrier reported [PDF]
    profits of $2.2 billion over its last reported 90 days trading, up
    from a $108 million loss the year prior. T-Mobile US also recorded a
    $1.9 billion profit in the quarter before. Sievert said the job cuts
    should be the last "widespread company reduction" for the foreseeable
    future.

    Thanks for helping us turn a profit this year; now there's the door.
    ...
    ...
    In addition to job cuts, the carrier is reorganizing its management.
    "We need to move at the speed of technology using data, AI, and other
    tools to deliver simplified digital experiences specifically curated
    for every customer," Sievert said

    https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/25/t_mobile_layoffs_5000/

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  • From Retrograde@21:1/5 to JAB on Mon Aug 28 00:40:30 2023
    On 2023-08-27, JAB <here@is.invalid> wrote:
    Profits just keep rolling in at T-Mobile US. So only thing to do is
    axe 5,000 workers

    T-Mobile US will lay off roughly 5,000 employees, or about seven
    percent of its workforce, over the next five weeks, the wireless
    carrier revealed in a recent regulatory filing.
    ...
    ...
    The layoffs come just weeks after the Un-carrier reported [PDF]
    profits of $2.2 billion over its last reported 90 days trading, up
    from a $108 million loss the year prior. T-Mobile US also recorded a
    $1.9 billion profit in the quarter before. Sievert said the job cuts
    should be the last "widespread company reduction" for the foreseeable
    future.

    Thanks for helping us turn a profit this year; now there's the door.
    ...
    ...
    In addition to job cuts, the carrier is reorganizing its management.
    "We need to move at the speed of technology using data, AI, and other
    tools to deliver simplified digital experiences specifically curated
    for every customer," Sievert said

    https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/25/t_mobile_layoffs_5000/

    Not enough info here to make an informed opinion, though I can
    appreciate the outrage.

    Often, firing boatloads of shitty middle management is useful. And
    that's the opinion of a shitty middle manager!

    Maybe that's the team that looked after their 2G network, now
    deprecated, who knows?

    I personally know a person whose only job is to transfer info from one spreadsheet into another spreadsheet. I could replace her with a small
    bash script, instead, she earns a salary and benefits (and milks them,
    too).

    My only beef with the article is the now obligatory name-drop of AI.
    FFS, AI is not a panacea and certainly does not have to be a mandatory
    part of every software offering and press release. Even my office suite
    wanted me to upgrade to a new version with AI built in. (I did not, and
    don't plan to).

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From JAB@21:1/5 to fungus@amongus.com.invalid on Sun Aug 27 19:26:18 2023
    On Mon, 28 Aug 2023 00:40:30 +0100, Retrograde
    <fungus@amongus.com.invalid> wrote:

    Not enough info here to make an informed opinion,

    "According to the letter, the layoffs will primarily hit workers in
    corporate, back-office, and technology roles. Retail and customer
    service workers won't be impacted by the cuts, it's said.

    "Impacted roles are primarily duplicative to other roles, or may be
    aligned to systems or processes that are changing, or may not fit with
    our current company priorities," Sievert explained."

    My only beef with the article is the now
    obligatory name-drop of AI.

    I believe companies will cut staffing if a new tech can reduce costs. ================================

    Telephone operation was a good career for women. Then it got
    automated.

    How automation wiped out a whole career for young women -- and how
    young women adapted. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2023/7/18/23794187/telephone-operator-switchboard-automation-att-feigenbaum-gross
    ===================

    Dialing 411 Is Soon to Be a Thing of the Past

    AT&T is halting the services Jan. 1 for digital landline customers in
    21 states.

    Come Jan. 1, AT&T Inc. phone customers with digital landlines will no
    longer be able to dial 0 for the operator or get directory assistance
    from 411: The telecom giant is ending the age-old services in 21
    states, sending them the way of the pay phone.

    The company stopped offering operator and directory assistance to
    wireless customers over a year ago. Other telecom giants have phased
    out the services as well. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-08/at-t-to-end-411-directory-saying-farewell-to-telephone-operator-era#xj4y7vzkg

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  • From Michael Trew@21:1/5 to JAB on Mon Aug 28 17:58:26 2023
    On 8/27/2023 8:26 PM, JAB wrote:

    Dialing 411 Is Soon to Be a Thing of the Past

    Come Jan. 1, AT&T Inc. phone customers with digital landlines

    I'm not about to dial 411 and get billed for it, but when I dial "0"
    with my AT&T land line, it tells me the time and date, then offers to
    connect me with an operator. That said, I do have a traditional AT&T
    PSTN land line; not a "digital" one.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Michael Trew@21:1/5 to Retrograde on Mon Aug 28 17:19:59 2023
    On 8/27/2023 7:40 PM, Retrograde wrote:
    On 2023-08-27, JAB<here@is.invalid> wrote:
    Profits just keep rolling in at T-Mobile US. So only thing to do is
    axe 5,000 workers (snip)

    Thanks for helping us turn a profit this year; now there's the door.
    ...

    https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/25/t_mobile_layoffs_5000/

    Not enough info here to make an informed opinion, though I can
    appreciate the outrage.

    That's true.

    Here's my guess: T-Mo said that the Sprint/T-Mo merger wouldn't cause lay-offs. I'd bet that there were tons of redundant jobs afterward, and
    T-Mo has been slowly letting those people go, rather than all at once...
    kinda sneaky!

    Maybe that's the team that looked after their 2G network, now
    deprecated, who knows?

    Not so fast... 2G is still alive and well (Running on bare minimum, I
    guess, but it's functional). Sitting next to me at my desk is my Nokia
    3395 mobile phone (circa 2002), which operates over 1900 MHz 2G via
    T-Mobile, because they are the only carrier who have not yet axed the
    service. I still have service, and can make/receive mobile calls. Yes,
    this is my only cell phone.

    T-Mo has pushed the 2G shutoff date back numerous times. Apparently,
    this time, the shut-off date has now been extended to April 2024. We'll
    see... I'll still use my phone up until it no longer connects. My
    friend with a 3G phone near Milwaukee said that his phone still had 3G
    for months after the alleged 3G shut-down, but it's fully gone now.
    Official T-Mo network evolution site below:

    https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network-evolution

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  • From Retrograde@21:1/5 to All on Mon Aug 28 20:37:17 2023
    Not so fast... 2G is still alive and well (Running on bare minimum, I
    guess, but it's functional). Sitting next to me at my desk is my Nokia
    3395 mobile phone (circa 2002), which operates over 1900 MHz 2G via
    T-Mobile, because they are the only carrier who have not yet axed the service. I still have service, and can make/receive mobile calls. Yes,
    this is my only cell phone.

    https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network-evolution

    Oh wow, great phone. I knew several people who had those -
    indestructable, and I think you only had to charge them like once or
    twice a week. When I first saw smartphones that couldn't make it
    through the day, I thought, who would want that?

    Just did a search for my old phone and came up with this page: https://www.cnet.com/pictures/2004-a-trip-down-mobile-memory-lane/10/

    Look at the outstanding diversity in design - so much creativity, so
    many options. Every phone is virtually indistinguishable these days,
    so boring.

    Never did find my old phone. Possibly one of these: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/12/d0/96/12d09693b99804bb06cb9bbc80ed8760.jpg
    --
    Retrograde <fungus@amongus.com.invalid>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Michael Trew@21:1/5 to Retrograde on Fri Sep 1 11:01:56 2023
    On 8/28/2023 8:37 PM, Retrograde wrote:

    Not so fast... 2G is still alive and well (Running on bare minimum, I
    guess, but it's functional). Sitting next to me at my desk is my Nokia
    3395 mobile phone (circa 2002), which operates over 1900 MHz 2G via
    T-Mobile, because they are the only carrier who have not yet axed the
    service. I still have service, and can make/receive mobile calls. Yes,
    this is my only cell phone.

    https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network-evolution

    Oh wow, great phone. I knew several people who had those -
    indestructable, and I think you only had to charge them like once or
    twice a week. When I first saw smartphones that couldn't make it
    through the day, I thought, who would want that?

    It truly is indestructible. I drop it from time to time, and it just
    won't break. The trouble is finding good batteries now. With light
    usage, it still makes a full day's charge, or two days, if I have it off
    at night.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)