Sad thing is people this has been happening for a long time and no one has been seeing or wanted to see what was going on right in front of them! AT&T has been doing this for over 14 years, I was a former employee, a store manager at that!
Because I was hired during the Bell South Mobility days had several years tenure with the company and was paid A LOT more than new managers and sales reps that were new coming to the team plus was getting 401 K options matched 100%, they found ever single way to squeeze me out of my job.. the proof I have, was in a very profitable store, had top sales reps that were awarded yearly for their sales, operating costs were kept below minimum standards....
the company continued to raise quotas so high that store reps weren't able to achieve bonuses which meant store quotas weren't achieved so that meant each time they failed or the store failed the manager was written up for it...you all know the 3 or 4 strike rule from AT&T when you get the last strike your out! They (AT&T) was able to get rid of most if not all of the tenured reps like that, in turned saved them money, LOTS of money and now it's happening on a wider scale.
I hope everyone used what ever time they had with the company to save some money they made over the years because I can promise you AT&T WILL find the loop hole to make sure they don't get paid your severance or anything else you think is coming to you, mark my words.
BEST decision I made the day I left was to never look back, I gave up a lot working for that company and the 2 other names it was before AT&T (Bell South Mobility & Cingular) I missed so much time with my family and children because I though I had to be there day and night to make sure things ran perfectly and was so stressed out that it almost killed me....
when I left all the stress and worry left as well. There are companies out there that value hard work, dedication, and determination.
Yes, your starting over but you'll be much happier you'll see!