In a memo sent out last Friday to Ericsson employees from the company’s People Operations Team, beginning October 1, 2023, all Ericsson U.S. field services will be performed by its “external providers” designating a separation date of September 29, 2023. The company said the layoffs will affect 750 employees across the company’s workforce in North America.
The memo from the “Ericsson People Operations Team” stated: “Since the inception of our field service delivery business in 2015, we have consistently worked with trusted and authorized external providers. Ericsson’s delivery of network services, from site design and engineering to continuous preemptive support and network optimization, will not change. The self-perform capability proved critical for us to accelerate local service delivery capabilities during the peak of the 5G cycle, with quality and an unwavering commitment to safety, setting a new standard for tower technicians in the U.S. However with the downturn in market demand, we can no longer justify the cost this unique capability represents.”
Affected employees were told they may apply for any roles of interest at Ericsson. And, If they do not find another Ericsson position, will have the opportunity for a severance package of nine weeks of severance pay and six months of COBRA (continuation of their medical and dental plan) calculated based on their last date of employment.
The letter went on to say: “This strategic change will provide added flexibility, reduce costs, and simplify our operations, allowing us to operate more efficiently and better serve the changing needs of our customers. This change is limited to field-based delivery service by Ericsson employees.”
An affected employee told Inside Towers: “I’m glad Ericsson is trying to help all these guys look for new jobs and trying to get authorized contractors to pick up the climbers but we’re all going to have a hard time making the same amount of money or finding great benefits and such. Just a lot to think about”
Another tech worker told Inside Towers: “Fortunately it seems they’re trying to look out for us and find us all new homes but it’s still a huge kick in the nuts with all we have done for them to build the services side of Ericsson to be left in the dust.”
The company closed by saying: “We are committed to transition and Ericsson remains committed to the end-to-end network engineering, roll-out, tuning, and optimization business.”
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