We've been hearing about the possibility that T-Mobile will be laying off reps, but most of that talk was based on the company pushing all transactions to the T-Life app. That would allow the carrier to give its reps the old heave-ho, sell its retail stores, and keep a completely online and digital footprint. This could result in increased profit margins, larger profits, and a higher stock price. This isn't something that we'd expect to be imminent, although we do feel pretty confident that 121 T-Mobile employees are about to get the boot.
Why do we feel so confident? Because the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) requires companies planning a mass layoff to notify workers 60 days in advance if closing a facility results in 50 or more employees losing their jobs during any 30-day period. The state also has to be notified as well.
A company must warn employees and the state if it plans on getting rid of 50 or more employees if those getting laid off make up at least 33% of the employer's active workforce at that site. According to the most recent WARN filings, T-Mobile plans to lay off 121 workers in King County. That is the home to several T-Mobile Experience Stores and T-Mobile's headquarters.
According to the document, T-Mobile plans to start the permanent layoff of these 121 employees on October 13th. The filing doesn't mention what these employees currently do or where they currently work. The 121 people being laid off could currently be working at company headquarters. Or perhaps those about to get a pink slip work at one of the T-Mobile Experience Stores found in the county.
While this is not the scorched-earth move that will result in T-Mobile laying off all reps and replacing them with the T-Life app, it could be the very start of this process. If you're T-Mobile, to escape retribution from the government, especially the regulatory agencies like the FCC and DOJ, you want to stay on their good side. After all, it was the thumbs up from the alphabet soup crew that allowed T-Mobile to pick up assets and spectrum from wireless firms like Sprint, Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and UScellular.
As a result, if T-Mobile does plan on replacing its stores and reps with the T-Life app,it would behoove it to make the transformation slowly. So perhaps it all starts with the layoff of 121 people.