Sprint is working on a plan to save US$2 billion-$2.5 billion in costs that will include an unspecified number of job losses, it emerged this week.
The U.S. operator made the announcement in a memo to staff, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The memo, from new chief financial officer Tarek Robbiati, stated that Sprint aims to make the cuts over the next six months.
The operator is implementing an external hiring freeze, Robbiati said. In addition, the cost-cutting plan will "result in job reductions," he said.
Robbiati was named as Sprint’s new CFO in August. He joined the telco from Australian finance firm FlexiGroup, but also previously served as deputy CFO of Telstra and CEO of the Australian incumbent’s former Hong Kong mobile subsidiary CSL.
The memo also informed staff that Sprint’s finance department will review and approve all expenditure. Robbiati urged employees to treat every dollar spent as if it were their own.
The WSJ pointed out that the news comes just days after Sprint revealed that it is not planning to take part in next year’s 600-MHz spectrum auction.
The telco insisted that it has no need to acquire new airwaves, claiming that it "has the spectrum it needs to deploy its network architecture of the future."
However, it seems likely that the potential cost of acquiring spectrum in the 600 MHz band formed no small part of that decision.
The FCC plans to launch the so-called incentive auction in late March.
