So, activist investors "pushing for spinoffs and major changes" pretty much means we are looking at major, major cuts if Ellliott Management gets its way. Which basically s—s for us.
Can we go without getting some bad news at least one day at AT&T? Or is that too much to ask for?
All Elliott Management has to do is convince enough shareholders that current leadership decisions are reducing profit to win the game.
AT&T requires an intervention.
""including a management layer that can be streamlined by reducing spans and layers and title proliferation .."
AMEN. And no, you perpetually angry types griping about your L1 and L2's...this isn't about them. This is referring to the AVP/VP/SVP/Executive SVP CEO to the CEO type nonsense that has become the norm here. If you have been here for a while you eventually get numb to it, but when you stand back and look at it, it is complete lunacy. Completely ridiculous and unnecessary.
Sounds Like the C-Suite needs to start prepping their chutes. This fund controls enough votes to make it happen.
Elliot Management now controls 1.2% of the shares. They can work to get some momentum going for a few changes, but they've got a long way to go to have major influence.
Paul Singer's comparison of AT&T to Verizon shows more where he wants us going, but Stephenson already outsourced or outright fired a big chunk of our Verizon-comparable talent, with more on the block to cover the next round of payment on our debts.
So, I'm betting we'll see a lot of "we're already doing that" and "we already sold our seed corn to pay for Stephenson's media mogul sunglasses, so we can't fix that," and a lot of posturing on all sides without much positive change.
Nice little stock pop, tho. Was a good time to sell it and get into something more substantial longer term.
Layoffs will continue where appropriate. They don’t hold enough shares to really make any big changes.
Elliott outlined a four-part plan for the company in a letter to its board Monday. The proposal calls for the company to explore divesting assets, including satellite-TV provider DirecTV, the Mexican wireless operations, pieces of the landline business, and others.
It urges AT&T, led by Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, to exit businesses that don’t fit its strategy, run a more efficient operation and stop making major acquisitions. Elliott said it would also recommend candidates to add to AT&T’s board.
Elliott is also calling for a series of governance changes, including separating the roles of CEO and chairman – currently held by Stephenson – and the formation of a strategic review committee to identify the opportunities at hand.
Sounds Like the C-Suite needs to start prepping their chutes. This fund controls enough votes to make it happen.
Here's a lead-in article and the actual letter.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190909005482/en/Elliott-Management-Sends-Letter-Board-Directors-ATT
"including a management layer that can be streamlined by reducing spans and layers and title proliferation .... And Verizon is continuing to streamline, currently executing against a $10 billion cost takeout program and reducing headcount by more than 10% ... reduce costs in its retail footprint, including closing redundant stores and increasing labor productivity... AT&T’s expansive facility footprint, both personnel offices and network centers, presents a sizeable opportunity for office consolidation and densification of the existing footprint ..."
One item of the stuff he's calling to be spun off is some of the landline footprint.
They've set up a website. https://activatingatt.com
AT&T is not a distressed asset to force layoffs, we all know the company is run by incompetent leadership. And Board somehow is rubber stamping every stupid decision.
The company can be run a lot better. Look at the deals they made in the last 2 months, with the money they are sending IBM and TechM way, imagine how many talented employees they could hire and retrain existing employees to deliver all the initiatives.
The cost of outsourcing is lot higher than cost of keeping and hiring employees. I think anyone with brain will realize that.
So my suspicion is none of us need to worry, unless you are SVP or above.
Calm down Chicken Little- “some guy said some things” - nothing has happened. Not only that, we all know he’s right. T should sell stuff and make major changes. They need to figure out what they are. Communications? Content? Delivery? Advertising? Security? Movie Studio? Cable/Tv company? Going to give yourself a heart attack if you let an investor quote get to you. Get your resume updated and just be prepared. If you don’t want to ride the rollercoaster just get out asap on our own terms.
Elliott Management = Deep cuts from CEO level on down to craft. Read up on them before you get too excited about the stock rise.