The Board of Directors — Dan’s bosses — wants one thing above everything else: stronger cash flow and a much leaner Verizon. And there are really only two ways to accomplish that at scale: increase revenue and aggressively reduce costs.
That’s where AI, automation, indirect retail, and organizational consolidation come into play.
As much as we joke about AI being terrible today, we’re still in the baby stages of what this technology will eventually become. Think about where AI could be 10+ years from now after years of development, training, and integration into systems like Salesforce, POS, digital sales, customer service, and account management.
The long-term vision, in my opinion, is for significantly more of Verizon’s direct sales and service transactions to happen digitally with fewer employees involved in the process.
And that brings us to retail.
I would not be surprised if we eventually reach a point where the overwhelming majority of Verizon retail locations are operated through indirect partners rather than corporate retail. People ask why Verizon would do that, but look at the economics. Some indirect locations are already producing strong numbers while Verizon doesn't have to carry the same corporate labor and operating structure behind every store.
Why own and operate the entire distribution network if somebody else can sell your product for you?
Then there's Business.
I think a major consolidation between Mid-Market and SMB — B2B, I2B, R2B, etc. — is brewing.
Instead of maintaining all these separate channels, imagine one broader organization called Business Markets, with roles differentiated primarily by account size and customer segment. It could eventually resemble the Government model: SMB and Mid-Market account managers operating within the same broader organization, potentially rolling up through the same leadership structure.
If you're wondering why accountability conversations, performance management and PIPs suddenly seem to be getting more aggressive, I don't think that's happening in a vacuum either.
When a company knows it needs fewer employees in the future, attrition becomes valuable. Every employee who voluntarily leaves — or exits through performance management — is potentially one less severance package or position that has to be eliminated during a future restructuring.
At the same time, the company gets an opportunity to identify and preserve its strongest performers for whatever the next version of the organization looks like.
That's why I think the ultimate goal is a much leaner Verizon — potentially below 50,000 employees over time, with headcount continuing to decline as automation improves.
And here's the uncomfortable part:
Verizon probably knows exactly what it's doing.
That doesn't mean employees have to like it. It doesn't mean every decision will be executed perfectly. But from a shareholder and cash-flow perspective, there is a clear logic behind the direction.
And this isn't exclusively a Verizon story.
It's happening across corporate America.
Companies are realizing they can automate more, outsource more, consolidate departments, flatten management structures and operate with fewer employees. Meanwhile, a difficult job market gives employers something they haven't had to this degree in years: leverage.
You can quit tomorrow because you disagree with the direction of the company, but there's a large pool of qualified candidates competing for good-paying corporate positions right now. Companies know that.
So when you connect the dots — AI integration, digital sales, indirect expansion, organizational consolidation, increased performance pressure and headcount reduction — these don't necessarily look like a bunch of unrelated decisions.
They look like pieces of the same long-term strategy.
The Verizon of 2035 may still be one of the largest telecommunications companies in America.
It just might require a fraction of the people to operate it & that's just facts. Hate it or love it.