Last November Sprint revealed plan to cut operating costs by $2.5billion along with it the snack and perks like bottled water and yogurt. Sprint's latest manourve involves shake up of middle management with new faces headhunted to take over from the old.
Recode has reported that Sprint in its latest shake-up has replaced its Senior VP for Product David Owen. Owen has been working for the carrier for more than 25 years. He has been overseeing product strategy, device selection, engineering, PR with handset makers amongst other tasks.
Chief Marketing Officer, Roger Sole's memo made it clear that the carrier initiated the change. The memo quoted Sole saying,"This was a very difficult decision as are those being made about individuals at every level in the organisation".
Sole note that they must stay committed to this process to also pursue both growth and optimization as they strive to become a stronger competitor.
A Sprint's representative confirmed the move and praised Owen for his contribution that helped Sprint succeed and evolve into the wireless company it is today. The Sprint representative extended their gratitude for all that he has done and wished him best of luck and continued success in future endeavors. He also said that Owen would be missed.
CEO, Marcelo Claure has indicated that in respect of making layoffs he wants to make it before 30 Jan 2016 to ensure the affected employees will benefit from the older and more generous severance plan which is being replaced by that date.
The new head of buyback and other reverse logistics Rod Millar who joined Sprint last year will now also be in charge of product. Millar will report to Roger Sole.
The AH has reported that it is not clear whether Owen's departure predicated on a costs cutting measure or other reasons that they are looking to move on from Owen. Sprint has hired 6 new regional heads with 6 more to be hired by end of 2016.
Tarek Robbiati CFO has noted that no one is safe. They are looking to cost anywhere they can. This move comes ahead of the layoffs that looming at Sprint, the 4th largest national carrier.
Sprint also has plan to cut $1 bil in costs for their network which will be put in place by mid-2016 at the latest.
In respect of Sprint's cost cutting exercise in a radical overhaul of its cellular network, FierceWireless quoted CFO Robiati's remarks saying, Every function is under scrutiny, whether it's finance or whether it's HR or whether it's legal,".
The CFO is said to have added, "We have way too many overheads in the corporate office, in sales and marketing -- in marketing itself, we are not very good at targeting marketing expenditure that is giving us the biggest bang for the buck." The message is clear that Sprint is really on a march towards reaching its target of having as much as $2.5bil costs cut.
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