Update June 6th: T-Mobile reached out to make a few corrections and offer a quote.
First, the company says they are not laying off staff, but relocating them to other locations. They say they expect very few departures from the company as a result of this change. We’ve asked if these employees are all being offered positions at other T-Force centers or if they are only offered relocation to nearby support centers that may not be T-Force specifically, and will update once we know.
Next, T-Mobile says that those that are unable to relocate are being offered alternate positions within the company.
Here is the full quote from T-Mobile:
To make our best-in-class online support team even more effective and collaborative for customers, we are bringing our previously geographically dispersed online support team (T-Force) physically together into five designated Customer Experience Center locations across the country. As online support remains a priority and we plan to stay fully staffed, we hope as many of our employees as possible stay on with us. To support them, we have offered relocation packages. Those who are unable to move are eligible for alternate roles at T-Mobile. We will provide those who choose to leave the company with transition support and anticipate very few departures.
T-Mobile, via Corporate Communications
Our previous coverage, with edits, is below.
T-Mobile built their customer base over the last decade partially due to their fantastic support. The company featured it in ads and it was one of former CEO John Legere’s famous Uncarrier Moves. Unfortunately the good days are coming to an end, as T-Mobile has initiated a massive layoff of many support centers across the US.
T-Force is the name for T-Mobile’s support teams available on Twitter and Facebook. They are a separate team from the rest of the company’s support methods, and are often preferred by loyal longtime customers as they tend to be quick and reliable.
According to a post on Reddit and independently confirmed by us here at The Mobile Report, T-Mobile is shutting down T-Force centers across the country. News is a bit conflicting, but it now seems that these locations will stay open, but the T-Force agents are being relocated. Apparently, T-Force operates out of the same support centers regular support is located, but now T-Force is being specifically centered to just 5 of those centers.
The changes come just a few months after the merger agreement terms expired, just as Sprint is being ended as a brand.
The company is apparently going from 17 T-Force support centers across the country down to just 5. The changes are effective immediately.
Some employees apparently found out about the decision at work this morning, when they attempted to login and discovered they were no longer in the system. Others saw the Reddit post today and were called by their superiors shortly after confirming the news.
We spoke to an affected employee that said their options were to either relocate to a nearby call center (with T-Mobile covering relocation costs as a one-time lump sum) or accept the layoff and get a severance. The severance will apparently be two months of PTO, covering paychecks until August 4th.
In addition, it appears the severance will include 10 shares of T-Mobile stock.
T-Mobile has stated that all employees are being offered relocation pay or alternate positions at the company, and they expect “very few departures” as a result of this change.
The employees have until June 12th, just 7 days, to decide if they’ll relocate or not. T-Mobile will also apparently be paying employees for the next week while they decide, even though they won’t be working.
It’s unclear how many employees were affected by the decision to shut down these centers, however T-Mobile claims most of them will still stay with the company.
We’ll be sure to update this article if and when we learn more.
