I truly feel bad for my counterparts and their families going through this. I would not want to be in their shoes at this time. But, if you look at the decisions being made at middle management and as a company there are 2 big giveaways that this was coming. The first sign is the absurdly high amount Verizon paid to buy out the Vodafone stock. Even if you factor the amount of millions we pay in dividends yearly to Vodafone in stock, it will take many years to pay off the billions we paid to them to buy out the stock. This is a cost Verizon took on when vodafone wasn't really bothering wireless by controlling their decision making abilities. Who is counting these things?
Second biggest problem is that management in the markets hasn't fired anyone in the last 5 years. Maybe it's different across the country? Instead they keep requesting headcount so they can hire more incompetents without any degrees or experience. Now we have extra employees fighting for their 'share' of work in the teams. There are also multiple directors without any clear direct reports or very minimal responsibilities & budgets.
After giving landline full control over wireless (the cash cow), they will kick and groan and say why aren't we cutting from over there, and only in wireline. This new "structure" is modeled after wireline, and wireless doesn't work the same way. We've had a successful formula for years and this is being flushed away because we gave the keys to a failing model.
Shall I dig into the whole career advancement opportunities in network, again unless you are a part of W.A.V.E (Womens association of Verizon employees) or VLDP (Verizon leadership development program) you will never make it anywhere even if you get dozens of 5-star ratings. If you are either of these, or both, you are almost guaranteed to be successful. The environment has gotten very toxic and I wouldn't be surprised if many employees defect from their wireless roles for other companies.
Again, this isn't a jab at anyone getting laid off, just a FYI for those of you looking at these things. Best of luck to all of my counterparts that are going through this.