Cable giant Charter is cutting 1,200 managers from its workforce
Cable giant Charter Communications has decided to lay off 1,200 employees across the country, as the company faces increasing competition for its broadband internet packages.
The company operates Spectrum cable TV and broadband service, which was once a huge growth driver. But the company has faced a steady pace of subscriber losses, including eliminating 177,000 internet customers in the first and second quarters of this year.
The company has nearly 30 million online customers.
The layoffs, amounting to just over 1% of its workforce, have hit corporate and management positions at Charter’s headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and centers in Charlotte, North Carolina; Denver and St. Louis, according to a person familiar with the cuts but not authorized to comment.
No sales or service jobs were being eliminated, the source said, adding that the cuts were part of an effort to streamline management functions. The company is scheduled to announce third-quarter earnings next week.
In addition to Internet service, Charter provides cable TV packages to 12.6 million customers.
It also has nearly 11 million mobile subscribers.
The move comes ahead of Charter’s acquisition of Cox Communications, which also operates in Southern California. The cuts made this week were not related to the Cox deal, the person familiar with the matter said.
Charter’s $34.5 billion industry consolidation deal with Cox, unveiled in May, needs regulatory approval, but that process has been slowed by the federal government shutdown.
Charter reported that it had about 94,500 active full-time workers at the end of 2024.
The company’s stock has fallen 27% since the beginning of the year. Shares fell about 1% on Wednesday in midday trading.
Broadband Internet has been a bright spot for the company as revenue from cable TV packages has declined steadily over the years amid consumers cutting cords and shifting to streaming.
Charter recognized this trend and began offering streaming apps to broadband customers to aid in retention efforts.
Two years ago, the company suffered huge losses to cable TV customers during a 10-day outage of Walt Disney Co. channels, including ESPN, during a tense distribution battle.
Charter was able to discuss the ability to offer Disney’s streaming apps, including Disney+ and Hulu, to Spectrum customers.
The company has already witnessed sporadic cases of belt tightening.
In August, Charter canceled its award-winning El Segundo news show, “LA Times Today,” a collaboration with the Los Angeles Times, which ran on the cable company’s Spectrum 1 news channel.