In a move that will save them between $700m and $800m this year alone, Sprint has axed the jobs of 4,000 people and pulled down the shutters on 125 stores because of predicted “downward pressure on subscriber trends, revenues, and profitability in 2008″. The carrier, which has lost nearly 700,000 monthly subscribers, will scythe employees from both management and non-management positions.
Criticism has regularly been aimed at Sprint regarding its continued investment in WiMAX, into which it plans to pump a total of $5bn, and its handling of the 2004 Nextel takeover that cost them $35bn. This time last year it announced 5,000 job losses, amid complaints of poor customer service.
With the Xohm network pseudo-launch this week, and further roll-out predicted for later this year, the hope is that cheaper-than-3G cellular broadband will be enough to turn around the subscriber churn.
