Sprint’s troubles seem to have little end in sight. So far in 2014, they’ve had to cut hundreds of jobs and shut down scores of stores. And that’s just the beginning.
Back on Friday, during a regulatory meeting, Sprint announced more job cuts from their already battered Kansas City headquarters. Back in March 2014, they had to shut down 55 stores nationwide and cut 330 jobs. Now more are coming. Management positions aren’t immune, as some top positions are expected to be cut. By October 31, this batch of job losses will likely cost this smartphone conglomerate over $160 million this fiscal quarter alone. And it looks like the Sprint consumer may be paying for the balance. Sprint warned additional charges may be needed to make up the difference, although nothing specific has been released to the public. Intense and aggressive ad campaigns are doing little to help. If anything, it’s inspiring? competitors. Sprint is #3 in the wireless carrier market. T-Mobile, #4, is bent on taking their #3 spot. The top two, AT&T and Verizon, have countered Sprint’s campaign with their own aggressive, but very popular, ad campaigns.
How did Sprint get in this mess? It started with a tacky, mediocre overhaul that a 5th grader could have put together. That lead to gaps in coverage, which led to confusion for a lot of Sprint consumers. That led to a mass exodus of customers dumping Sprint, probably in favor of T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. So when the customers go, revenue goes. And when revenue goes, jobs go. And now they want to take it out on their remaining customers by even suggesting the bill might be passed on to them? This is what I call company suicide. I know the lostmoney has to be made, but not this way. Hold on to what consumers you have left. How bad will it be when more customers walk out because they’re being forced to pay for Sprint’s troubles?