AT&T Is Automating Away Jobs—and Its Old Telecom Empire
AT&T is aggressively cutting its workforce and automating manual processes as it attempts to modernize its legacy telecom infrastructure. The company aims to reduce headcount significantly by 2030 to improve efficiency and compete with modern rivals.
Why it matters
This reflects a broader trend of legacy corporations using AI and automation to shed labor costs and pivot toward digital-first business models.
“We’re not going to have the same headcount in five years as we do today,” Legg says, adding that comparing its staffing levels to that of peers plays a role in its decisionmaking. According to public financial disclosures, AT&T generated less revenue per employee last year than its competitors Verizon and T-Mobile, both of which have let go of workers in recent months.
If AT&T continues cutting jobs at the same pace as last year, when it shed 8,000 people, its workforce could approach 85,000 employees by 2030. A person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly, described that number as the company’s target. AT&T called the figure inaccurate. In the first half of 2026, the telecom giant cut some 2,100 jobs.
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