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Verizon Communications Inc. met with customer service employees last summer, signaling imminent “restructuring” and “streamlining” measures expected to result in substantial layoffs, as reported by The Verge. With over 6,000 employees present during the call, the impact of these consolidation measures may extend beyond initial estimates. Verizon was slated to reveal details about the restructuring plan last summer, as conveyed in a prerecorded message to employees. However, no public updates have since been released. Workforce Reductions Across Companies The reported layoffs at Verizon align with a broader trend of U.S. companies, including Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc., implementing workforce reductions due to a demand downturn attributed to elevated inflation and rising interest rates. In April, Verizon fell short of its first-quarter revenue and free cash flow estimates, citing wireless subscriber losses as inflation-weary Americans postponed device upgrades, and the...
Cxmmunity is still on a mission to make esports accessible at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Black-owned non–profit spearheaded by Christopher Peay and Ryan Johnson has announced its second annual HBCU Esports League Verizon Celebrity Pro-Am. Students will compete in Uno and Fortnite alongside celebrity figures including T-Pain, Brett Gray, Mike Evans, Erin Ashley Simon, Allisha Gray, Bas, Tarik Cohen, FaZe Swagg, Sonny Digital, and more. “We want to continue elevating and raising awareness around HBCU esports programs while showing these schools and these students that there are really cool people in sports, entertainment, and music supporting the gaming space,” Johnson told AfroTech exclusively. In addition to playing alongside celebrity favorites, students can also look forward to a prize pool of $10,000 with $2,000 for the Uno segment that will be donated to the school’s esports programs and $8,000 for the Fortnite tournament to support student...
It takes a tremendous amount of dedication and perseverance to climb the corporate ladder at your workplace. Twenty-two years ago, Krista Bourne started at Verizon Consumer Group in its mailroom where she began to discover the needs of the company’s large customer base. Now, she’s a part of leading how the business runs daily to ensure it’s upholding its mission of quality service for over 100 million customers. After having more than 10 roles to her name at Verizon Consumer Group, Bourne now holds the title of chief operating officer (COO) — making her the first Black woman to be in the role at the company. According to the c-suite executive, her drive to enact positive change is what helped her have a tunnel vision of reaching where she is now in her career. “I charted my career to ensure that in every role I’ve had, through customer service, retail sales, and operations, I’ve been able to drive positive change through customer feedback,” she told AfroTech. “Now, I’m at the level...
Verizon is increasing its spending with Black-owned media companies based in the U.S., starting with a new partnership with Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group. According to a press release, the two entities have joined forces to launch a new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative for a Black-owned media summit scheduled for May that will help Verizon reach its goal. “I’m very proud of Verizon, one of the largest advertisers in the world, coming to the table to make sure we have real economic inclusion for Black-owned media,” Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group, shared in a press statement. “The biggest trade deficit in our nation is the trade deficit between corporate America and Black America, and we must close that gap immediately.” John Nitti — Chief Media Officer at Verizon — shared his thoughts about how the company has been working toward increasing its DEI efforts to help the industry as a whole progress. “Verizon has been working to address diversity,...
Bridging the digital divide amongst underserved communities is essential to giving everyone in the nation equal access to critical communications networks. According to Verizon’s latest initiative, the telecommunications company has created a way to make reliable, high-speed internet more accessible to those in underserved communities who meet financial assistance requirements through Verizon Fios Forward. A news release shares the Fios Forward program was first offered to new customers back in April 2020, and generates much faster and more equipped internet services, unlike traditional home Internet assistance programs. It also offers eligible customers a discounted rate for faster internet service. The goal of the program is to rid customers of unreliable internet providers who limit their access to quality home internet, which often lacks speed and the capacity to handle more than one user’s demands. This has become an increased issue over the last year due to many citizens...
Black businesses are struggling to survive the impact of COVID-19, but there’s been an outpour of support from major networks and corporations to help revive small businesses and alleviate stress from entrepreneurs. As part of their $7.5 Million Small Business Recovery Fund, telecommunications company Verizon announced that they are distributing $10,000 grants to minority businesses to pull through the pandemic, according to Black Enterprise . “Verizon recognizes how valuable small businesses are and that the economic stability of our communities is based on their success,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer of Verizon, in a press release . “It’s critical that we lean in and support these businesses so they can continue to sustain themselves during this unprecedented time of need.” Black Enterprise reported that of the recipients, 62 percent are women-owned businesses, 96 percent are minority-owned, 12 percent are veteran-owned, and 87 percent are...
Tumblr has seen quite a few different owners in the past few years. In 2013, the online blogging platform was sold to Yahoo for $1.1 billion in hopes that it’d make the company relevant on the internet once again. That didn’t really work out because Yahoo itself was acquired by Verizon in 2017 . It’s clear that Verizon has never really known what to do with Tumblr. Last year , Verizon banned all pornography and sexually explicit content on Tumblr after finding child pornography on the platform. Critics of the move argue that Verizon could have worked to crack down on the exploitation of minors specifically because Tumblr was pretty well-known for its not-safe-for-work (NSFW) scene. Since the ban, Mashable reported that Tumblr lost almost a third of its users. Now, Verizon is looking to sell Tumblr, according to The Verge — and one company is already expressing interest. In a statement to BuzzFeed News , Corey Price, Vice President of Pornhub, said his company was “extremely...