You don’t need “the lay-off” to tell you what’s going on right now. It’s all speculation at this point.
What you can do is pay attention to what the company is saying.
All you hear about now it wireless, fiber and streaming. That’s it! When is the last time a townhall referenced the “huge” contributions that anything copper I see making?
I know it’s a hit on the ego of those employees and technology that help build the company but those days are over. The surplus will be benchmarked around customer count and whether that organization makes money or just spends money.
The Uverse platform is being shutdown that ahas already been stated. DSL will be gone. Copper out side of major metro areas gone!
The dream of the company is to provide services that require as few techs as possible. With that said the management and support groups for Uverse and POTS will be collateral damage. AT&T will still provide service to major metropolitan areas but areas/ small towns are not going to stay because they can’t pay enough to keep those employees on payroll.
If you work in a market with a majority copper plant face the sad realization that your company is not going to continue those services. They will allow that service to go away. When the customers in those areas can’t get dial tone or internet they will just move to another company’s service. It is a calculated decision because losing those customers costs less than maintaining the infrastructure.