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What a scare the Sprint employees got! They found out that after working so hard for this company that has been in turmoil for years that they will probably get laid off in January with a lesser severance than expected. Hey, in all honesty it’s better than most tower workers get when they are laid off, they’re lucky to get a ride home! Tower workers usually get nothing, a big empty goose egg! When I was laid off and I got stiffed on expense money, so I left in the hole!
Here’s the rub, Sprint is setting a precedent by announcing that they will be reducing the severance pay for employees that they are going to lay off in January, that’s right, all those hard-working Sprint people are getting screwed over. Hey, I know a few people that work for Sprint and they put in long hours with little gratitude from the 
higher-ups. At least the ones I know work really hard, they get paid for 40 hours when they really work 60 or more hours, yes, most of them are salary. Sprint made the announcement that when they lay off the people that (worked 60 hours a week for 40 hours pay) were not only going to be let go, but the severance package they expected is going to get knocked down to a week’s pay for each year worked there. That still isn’t bad but it’s half of what they were going to get. Can you believe it? It amazes me that now the solution is to screw the laid off workers out of a decent severance. Click here to read the story. They will get a reduced severance and a good kick in the ass as they are pushed out of the door because previous management could not control spending.
Hey, this Sprint layoff news may not be all bad, remember that Sprint will probably be very shorthanded. So if you are a contractor, I would say it is a good thing. They will need support and they probably want to hire contractors. They may pay a higher hourly rate but they will be able to hire and fire easily and not more benefits. So this is an opportunity for those of you that have a service that Sprint may need, like PM, RF Engineer, or network engineer.
I also see them needing RAN work done when they eventually expand, right? I don’t think that Mr Claure will be going up a tower anytime soon, do you? If he does, I hope I am there to race him to the top, with 100% tie off of course.
What worries me now is that this sets a precedent for all the companies in the future to bully their employees when they downsize. Hey, losing your job sucks, but having them tell you they didn’t appreciate having you there hurts even more! I guess the new CFO, Tarek Robbiati has a better severance planned for when he leaves. Let’s blame him and Marcelo Claure, just because they are the leaders, makes it easy to see who made the decisions here, right? Money first, people last, and the system falls somewhere in between.
Hey, Sprint isn’t all bad. Maybe it’s time for a history lesson. What a great company to work for if you are an executive. Let’s look at the former CEO Dan Hesse who got $38M when he left to go work on the board. How does that grab you? Or we could look at the current CEO who is getting over $20M in total compensation. Is it any wonder they have financial problems, but are they looking at the real problems? Let’s go back to 2007 when Gary D Forsee got $54M for leaving Sprint! Before that there was William Esray who got $5.8M to leave Sprint, and he was asked to resign! Well, that’s fair!
My hope here is that Softbank can turn Sprint around. The shareholders are happy to see Sprint cut over $2B out of the budget, way to go! I just thought that laying the people off was enough, I didn’t think that cutting the severance was good PR, but as long as the shareholders are happy, who cares, right? Let’s hope that Sprint can stay out of bankruptcy! I would hate to see that happen for so many reasons!
For all of you Sprint employees about to lose your jobs, my heart goes out to all of you. Its tough being out of work, there is never a good time. There is never enough money in savings. I pray that all of you can find work very soon. I wish you would have a reasonable severance package, so sorry.
For all of you employees at other carriers, look out. The way I see it, Sprint is setting a precedent. Executive pay is first, then profits, then the system, and then maybe the employees. I have to tell you, it seems that the other carriers are taking care of their employees, but then again, they are growing.
By the way, Verizon is laying people off so it’s not just Sprint. Even though they see growth
I will continue to root for Sprint as a carrier to grow and improve. If they see growth maybe they will hire again. Maybe they will be innovative with the densification project. I guess we shall see.
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