The winds of change are blowing at AT&T, with significant job cuts expected in Alabama in the coming months. The company has confirmed that it plans to lay off over 70 employees in Huntsville, Alabama, as per a WARN notice filed last week. The layoffs are set to take effect by September 20, possibly just before the iPhone 17 release. While there is no direct confirmation that these cuts are linked to artificial intelligence (AI), the growing role of AI in telecommunication operations makes this a plausible scenario.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that these layoffs are part of a broader trend affecting AT&T as it seeks to streamline operations. The WARN Act requires the company to provide a 60-day notice to affected employees, offering them time to find new jobs or retrain for other opportunities. In a statement to the Advertiser, AT&T emphasized the difficulty of such decisions, acknowledging that “additional reductions” may be necessary in the future, suggesting that these layoffs might be just the beginning.
This move by AT&T echoes similar shifts in the global telecom sector, with British telecom giant BT Group also planning significant workforce reductions as AI adoption accelerates. BT, currently employing around 99,000 people, is considering cutting up to 40,000 jobs by 2030. The company’s CEO, Allison Kirkby, believes AI will not only improve efficiency but also contribute to even deeper job cuts. This follows earlier plans to reduce its workforce by 55,000 as part of a cost-cutting strategy announced in 2023.
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