I was part of the 5,000 people laid off at the end of 2016; wanted to share experiences, compare notes, and let others know what they may be in for:
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Be very careful about what you are told, by AT&T or it's appointed "partners" (Fidelity, Hewitt, Aon, etc.) - get it in writing if possible. After being repeatedly told by Fidelity (the record keeper of all things related to AT&T service) that I was eligible for retirement benefits, I learned two days before Christmas that I was not. They lopped 5.5 years off my 22.5 years, citing arcane "service bridging" rules, and never produced a document that put those rules in writing, despite numerous requests. Definitely illegal under ERISA, but I already wasted $10K on lawyers fighting the pension f---ing they gave me, and can't afford any more self-funded legal expeditions.
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Good luck trying to get your final paychecks - still waiting for mine almost 3 months after my last day on payroll. I'm told they are waiting to see what chargebacks come in so they can whack it down to as close to $0 as they can get. BTW - blatantly illegal in California to make separated employees wait this long.
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Severance? What severance? Oh yeah - to get your severance, you have to sign "the waiver", which gives up all your rights to fight crap like the above. Does that get you your severance? Still waiting for mine - 2+ months.
So, net-net, what does 20+ years of very successful sales and leadership at AT&T, bringing in literally tens of millions of dollars to the company, do for you? Not much. Beware.