Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTPatricia BattleTue, September 8, 2026 at 10:07 PM GMT+2 3 min readT-Mobile, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom, is making another notable shift in where customers go for help after implementing significant workforce changes over the past few months.As the carrier undergoes a digital transformation, announced by CEO Srini Gopalan late last year, it has quietly conducted several rounds of job cuts in December, March and April, affecting employees in departments such as consumer and retail, sales, etc.It also reportedly began shrinking its authorized retail location footprint earlier this year, resulting in additional layoffs. Amid these workforce changes, Deutsche Telekom revealed in its second-quarter 2026 earnings report that T-Mobile's U.S. headcount dropped from 70,036 employees on Dec. 31, to 65,365 by June 30, "primarily due to the impact of the 2025-2026 Workforce Transformation."T-Mobile is officially continuing to enforce these changes as it plans to lay off 77 workers in Washington state, according to a WARN notice it filed with the state Employment Security Department on Aug. 21.The latest round of job cuts stems from several closures, including six retail locations and one corporate office.The layoffs are expected to occur between Sept. 21 and Nov. 18, and they will impact employees such as managers, directors, mobile experts, and senior analysts in departments including technology, HR, product, and engineering. Related: T-Mobile makes striking workforce shift amid fight for customersIn the notice, T-Mobile clarifies that these job cuts are expected to be permanent. It also states that a "subset of the layoffs are due to relocation," as in some cases, employees have been offered the opportunity to relocate. The move from T-Mobile comes as layoffs are on the rise nationwide. Employers in the U.S. announced 52,881 job cuts in August, up 58% from the 33,429 cuts announced in July, according to recent data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Approximately 4,113 of the layoffs announced in August were from the telecommunications industry. Matt Walker, chief analyst at MTN Consulting, said in a report from Mobile Europe in May that artificial intelligence has recently become the leading reason for layoffs in the telecom industry as more companies aim to cut costs. "The telco workforce has been shrinking for years due to layoffs, retirement and attrition, while the employee profile is also changing," said Walker. "Telcos increasingly value skills in software, cloud, AI and quantum computing," he continued. "Operators have long automated incrementally, but many now frame their strategy explicitly around AI as AI has become a major theme in the telco C-suite."Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info