#costcutting

We have too many in-house counsels and law function leaders. I have seen 2-3 in house counsels in some internal meetings. They are tripping over themselves!

The function overall and within business lines has put in place “zipper model” org charts to align with similar hierarchy positions in other functions. This includes 1:1 law-to-business leader relationships. THAT IS NOT NEEDED post 2025!!!!! Other functions have rationalized cost, often serving multiple businesses (what we saw pre-2025). The zipper model is seen not just with the Law org chart, but also on how Law leaders expect to be advised by their senior counsels within a business. They want to be spoon fed, often to participate on an equal footing with other function colleagues.

Also, have you seen how Law function internal approval is sought? Tons of leaders are copied or addressed on emails. These are ornate emails that cut and paste from emails used in the business. It’s a who’s who of the function on these emails.

Law function work appears MOSTLY administrative and coordination in its nature. They are experts in keeping their function leadership aware of issues and managing the real work performed by others, including external counsel.

Can we make real and lasting change here?

Happened earlier in July but apparently was largely overlooked and then quickly buried by AK's pre-emptive stock warning.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-09/starbucks-taps-ai-to-reduce-reliance-on-microsoft-ibm-software

By Daniela Sirtori and Brody Ford |
July 9, 2026 at 5:15 AM CDT
Updated on July 9, 2026 at 8:31 AM CDT

• Starbucks Corp. is developing in-house tools with the help of artificial intelligence that could replace some software applications it now buys from companies such as Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp.
• The coffee chain is building alternatives to a Microsoft system that tracks inventory and an IBM tool that manages maintenance, according to an internal presentation reviewed by Bloomberg News.
• Starbucks spends about $400 million a year on software alone, and building in-house software can be cheaper, an incentive for the company, which is looking to cut costs as part of a broader turnaround effort.

Starbucks Corp. is developing in-house tools with the help of artificial intelligence that could replace some software applications it now buys from companies such as Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp.

The coffee chain is building alternatives to a Microsoft system that tracks inventory and an IBM tool that manages maintenance, according to an internal presentation reviewed by Bloomberg News. Some of the Starbucks-developed software could roll out by the end of next year, pending the results of testing.

For years, businesses were tethered to their technology vendors due to fear of business disruption and the complexity of building in-house tools. Now AI is shifting that calculus as it makes it easier to develop applications from scratch and as companies push workers to use the technology.

Leading software companies face mounting concerns about whether they’ll be able to fend off competition from products built by upstarts, or their own customers, using AI. This phenomenon has weighed on software stocks this year, with Microsoft and IBM both trailing the S&P 500.

Shares of both companies fell during trading on Thursday, with Microsoft down 2.4% and IBM sinking 5.2% at 9:30 a.m. in New York.

Starbucks spends about $400 million a year on software alone, Chief Technology Officer Anand Varadarajan told workers in an internal forum earlier this year. “There’s clear opportunities to reduce the spend in software,” Varadarajan said, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg News.

In-house software can be cheaper, an incentive for companies such as Starbucks, which is looking to cut $2 billion in costs as part of a broader turnaround effort. Though in the long run, building can lead a company to pay higher maintenance and labor costs.

When it comes to technology, the company is reviewing “every contract and service,” according to the presentation. In some cases, that includes building products to replace software that its engineers have to heavily tailor anyway.

Starbucks has been working for several years on building a point-of-sale system that would take the place of Oracle Simphony, according to people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The coffee chain declined to comment. In a blog post earlier this year, the company said AI and other technology advancements will support its long-term growth and free up baristas to focus more on customer service.

Spokespeople for Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle didn’t provide comment.

AI-assisted coding was key to developing the platform that could replace the IBM tool, according to the internal presentation. Starbucks has been pushing tech workers to use artificial intelligence, even factoring usage into their bonuses, Bloomberg News has reported.

There’s skepticism about how much, or how quickly, AI can speed up and automate work. Starbucks recently pulled an AI-powered system to track inventory at stores, reverting to manual counting. It also continues to use software from third-party vendors, including from companies such as Microsoft.

The Starbucks enterprise technology team is on track to reduce its budget by about $30 million in the fiscal year ending in late September, according to the internal presentation. That includes cutting about $10 million in software spending.

Another $13 million will be saved mostly by cutting back on contractors from professional services firms and backfilling some roles with its own staff. Starbucks is setting up offices in Nashville and India that will house some tech workers, while others will remain at its Seattle headquarters. The company has cut about 2,300 jobs since February of last year, including many in tech.

head of growth and generosity leaving company, not being replaced. a bunch of people promoted from VP to SVP. in same email, layoffs announced. said this was done in the name of cost reduction yet with all the big title promotions, were there any real dollars saved? it's so tasteless to be rah rah let's celebrate promotions and then tell people they lost their jobs all in the same day.

Heard that teams are being limited on their AI spend due to extreme costs by some dev groups. Like $100 per month limit is what we were told, but don't know that for sure. Anybody else have more details on this shiz show?

Hahahahaha...AI is so great; let's get rid of people! Oh no, it costs too much; let's limit it but not hire anyone back! Eddie Jones should have just stuck with treating it's underpaid people nicely and letting everybody be happy the way things were before all this reimagined cr@p!

With losing the employee discount it's not worth staying with verizon I need cheap and works most the time.

If you found any deals share I thing everyone would appreciate

A recent analysis reveals that major tech companies like Oracle, Amazon, Cloudflare, and Block have cited artificial intelligence in their layoff announcements. However, the underlying reasons for these workforce reductions differ significantly among them. Some companies are reallocating funds towards AI infrastructure, while others are simplifying organizational structures or undergoing direct AI-driven restructuring. The research suggests that many of these layoffs are preemptive cost-saving measures to finance AI development rather than direct job replacements by automation. This divergence in explanations has implications for how HR communicates these changes to employees and stakeholders.

https://hrexecutive.com/four-big-name-ai-layoffs-four-different-explanations/

The only silver lining in this whole mess is that it's going to be 36 (eight of them tenured) instead of 52 people, as it was originally planned in May. Two departments are being eliminated - University Studies and Conflict Resolution. All to save $15.9 million.

All organizations need“Streamlining”.

Also, looked like Jeff had to help grandpa get through the call.

Nike’s executives spent years talking about “protecting innovation.” Then they invited the Sword of Damocles to become CFO.

Enter DD. The sword hanging by a single horsehair over every employee, every budget, every project, and every team still foolish enough to think “innovation” is safe.

Damocles at least got to enjoy the banquet before he noticed the sword. Nike employees don’t even get that courtesy—they just get another restructuring email and the 15-minute call

The strategy seems simple:
Cut people. Cut budgets. Cut ambition. Cut innovation.

Pretty soon the only thing left with a Swoosh on it will be the cost savings spreadsheet.

“Just Do It” has become “Just Cut It.”

Job title downgrades coming for VPs of all levels and Directors of all levels. The company needs to save money and this is the logical way.

I think their trying real hard to trip people up so they can fire them. Then hire people with a low salary.

Gotta love the fact they are so worried about reducing costs other than top executives pay and advertising. They are main advertisers on the World Cup .. the Super Bowl … ALL THE BIG EVENTS .
It’s just an attack on the workforce to fatten that axxhats pockets

While Meta didn't pay Yann LeCun enough to stay, Brown came from AWS, so it was a cheaper hire option :)

Break down the remaining $2.6+ billion required to hit the full $5 billion operational goal

To bridge the $2.6 billion to $3.0 billion gap remaining to hit CEO Dan Schulman's full $5 billion OpEx reduction target by year-end 2026, Verizon and CFO Tony Skiadas have mapped out specific operational targets. These steps shift the strategy from immediate "people cuts" to long-term systemic and structural efficiencies.

The remaining cost-saving pipeline is split into four core operational areas:

1. The Next Waves of Workforce Reductions (~$1.0 Billion to $1.2 Billion)

Wall Street analysts estimate that between 8,000 and 10,000 additional positions must still be eliminated or outsourced by the end of 2026 to hit the targeted headcount savings.

Target Areas: Mid-level corporate management, overlapping regional operational staff, and back-office administrative departments.

Severance Impact: Verizon expects to clear an additional $350 million to $450 million in short-term severance charges during the back half of the year to structurally lower future payroll.

1. Full AI Scale Deployment (~$600 Million to $700 Million)Verizon is transitioning to an "AI-first company," utilizing its newly finalized AI automation stack to replace human tasks.

Customer Service Trimming: Transitioning basic billing inquiries, account plan upgrades, and routing calls directly to AI. AI customer interactions are scaling rapidly, yielding high customer satisfaction marks.

Contractor Spending Cuts: Drastically minimizing reliance on high-cost third-party customer service vendors and outsourced technical support agencies by automating workflows.

1. Network Modernization & Copper Sunset (~$500 Million to $600 Million)Maintaining parallel networks is highly inefficient. Verizon is rapidly accelerating the decommissioning of its legacy copper infrastructure.

Copper Decommissioning: Sunsetting old copper lines slashes power usage, expensive physical maintenance, and field-technician dispatch costs.

IT Stack Consolidation: Migrating older, fragmented software networks into unified cloud platforms, eliminating redundant software license fees and data silo upkeep.

1. Supply Chain, Real Estate, & Vendor Optimization (~$400 Million to $500 Million)

The final pillar targets overhead and procurement contracts across corporate and retail operations.

Real Estate Rationalization: Closing down corporate offices and shrinking administrative facilities to match hybrid-work realities.

Contract Renegotiations: Forcing major hardware, equipment, and network software vendors to lower pricing terms under the threat of supplier consolidation.

Total Remaining 2026 OpEx
Workforce Downsizing - Corporate & back-office cuts (8k–10k roles) $1.1B
AI Stack & Automation - Automating routine customer workflows & vendor cuts $650M
Network & IT Evolution - Copper network decom & software consolidation $550M Vendor & Real Estate - Lease terminations & procurement contract revisions $450M

Total Remaining Target~$2.75 Billion(Note: These figures exclude the separate $1 billion in annual cost synergies Verizon expects by 2028 from its ongoing Frontier Communications acquisition integration).

We all know the 5B target... so how much has actually been cut from the balance sheet?

seems like they are firing mainly developers due to cost reductions / the on going climate and moving developers to India. everyone's benefits were terminated and at midnight and were given the a standard bare bones severance.

Last week's layoffs carried over US employees itself or VZ India as well? Why all american workers and their positions get eliminated but not India employees? Is it because of cheap rates? Though their work is at sub-par in quality and no accountability what so ever?

What happened in Claims a few weeks ago? Heard there may have been some senior officers departing? Performance, or is this an exercise in flattening the leadership structure and cutting costs?

We can replace Stankey for around 5k, and save the company $30 million+ per year. This doesn’t even include stock losses this dum--ss boomer has caused.

We give AI The Handmaid’s Tale, Elon’s annotated version of Mein Kampf, and tell it to always make the d-mbest decision possible. Abracadabra, we’ve replaced John Stankey and saved the company 30 mil a year.

Recording 24 consecutive quarters of staff reductions, the current headcount stands at 197,000 employees, reflecting a decrease of 15,000 positions compared to the previous year. Over the past six years, under the leadership of CEO Charlie Scharf, the organization has eliminated a total of 79,000 roles.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/wells-fargo-warns-of-additional-job-cuts-as-cost-cutting-drive-continues/ar-AA284NyR?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=f393bcd159ae452af7868dfd2f6ebb02&ei=9

https://www.crn.com/news/channel-news/2026/cdw-cuts-jobs-as-ai-cost-cutting-drive-takes-hold

For those of you good at math, how many employees need to be laid off to reach a 55% efficiency ratio? GK said on the earnings call that the goal is 55%-57%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is now under private equity ownership following a significant acquisition. The company is implementing aggressive cost-cutting measures, including widespread layoffs and store closures. This strategic shift aims to streamline operations and improve profitability after a period of financial struggle. Former shareholders received a cash payout with the potential for additional returns from future asset divestitures. The company is fragmenting its business into independent units to focus on core competencies.

Deerfield, Illinois

https://www.kavout.com/market-lens/what-triggered-walgreens-shift-to-private-ownership

Ford just interested in cutting high wage employees, shipping work outside of country and hiring H1B's...

Why purchase a non American product?

I’ve seen so many people post on LinkedIn today that this is their last day at Cisco. Very similar to when I was laid off as It’s all about cost nothing to do with refocusing on AI. Everyone who looks to be impacted was 20+ years there so high dollar resources. They managed to throw in a few younger people to avoid the lawsuit.

Verizon is preparing to implement another round of job cuts this week as part of its ongoing cost-saving initiatives. The telecommunications giant aims to reduce expenses under the leadership of its new CEO, Daniel Schulman. These layoffs follow previous reductions in November and May, with the company having previously announced a goal of $5 billion in operating expense savings for 2026. CEO Schulman has emphasized that these measures are necessary to reinvest in the company's value proposition and address declining customer satisfaction. The company's stock has seen a modest increase this year, but it continues to trail the broader S&P 500 index.

New York, NY

https://www.barrons.com/articles/verizon-layoffs-73f1fc34

Cost of HSI is more than the revenue it generates. 3% HSI customers occupies more than 50% of network capacity.
Hence more layoffs to reduce overall costs.
Stock price stays high bcoz the volume is low average daily is less than 1/10th volume of Verizon or AT&T.
Markets are getting tricked but will this continue?

How can fiscam justify the push of AI now that the costs are becoming clearer?
Another cost to drive share price much lower!

Procter & Gamble is planning to eliminate up to 7,000 non-manufacturing positions by fiscal year 2027. This significant workforce reduction is intended to help the company manage increasing tariff costs and streamline its operations. The cuts will primarily affect office and support staff, not those involved in production or factory work. This strategic move aims to improve cost productivity and maintain margins amidst external economic pressures. The company will focus on redeploying savings into growth, brand building, and innovation initiatives.

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/procter-gamble-pg-plans-7-190737889.html

Over 2,600 companies have initiated layoff events impacting more than 230,000 employees in 2026. This trend, while significant, shows a 40% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year. Artificial intelligence is frequently cited as the primary reason for these workforce adjustments. However, some analyses suggest that cost-cutting and restructuring may be the underlying drivers. The technology sector has experienced the most substantial job cuts, though manufacturing, retail, and financial services have also seen reductions.

United States

https://eciks.org/13243-29978-employee-layoffs-2026-230000-workers

Management thinks they're being smart by continuing to replace older workers with younger, cheaper ones. But they're overlooking that young people have boundaries when it comes to work. They won't work nights and weekends or answer your emails 24/7. Productivity is going to take a hit, and I'm here for it.

AT&T “leadership” needs to wake up and start making hard decisions about where capital is actually creating value and stop wasting it on nonsense.

Starlink and SpaceX are no longer just interesting companies to watch and laugh about. They represent a serious long term existential threat to traditional telecom like AT&T, and Wall Street is clearly paying attention. The recent 30% decline in AT&T’s stock price reflects the growing concerns about the company’s future and its ability to compete in a changing industry.

AT&T employs roughly 100,000 people, and maintaining a large and widespread office footprint comes with enormous ongoing costs like office leases, utilities, HVAC, water, janitorial services, security, parking, maintenance, supplies, and countless other facilities expenses in the neighborhood of $2B-$4B annually.

A reduction in unnecessary office space and a more flexible virtual first approach could free up tens of billions of dollars used for real competitive investment. That’s capital could be redirected toward the things that will actually determine whether AT&T wins the next decade like network investment, technology, spectrum, AI, innovation, and attracting and retaining top talent.

Instead, we’re continuing to wastefully spend billions on office space each year while also building a new multi billion dollar HQ nobody (besides Stink) wants or needs. At a time when the company is facing its biggest competitive threat in history, is that really the best use of capital?

AT&T doesn’t need to waste more billions proving employees can sit in a building like it’s 1960 in 2026. It needs to spend its available billions proving it can compete in the future, and right now morale is so low because of RTO that nobody here is motivated or cares at all.

If leadership is serious about competing against starlink, then capital should follow strategy. Go after the easy low hanging fruit and reduce the unnecessary facilities and associated costs, rethink archaic RTO requirements, and invest those dollars where they’ll actually generate a real competitive return. Ending the RTO nonsense seems like one of the easiest and most obvious places to start.

Too bad this “leadership” team is full of proven losers who can’t admit they got it wrong, again. One man’s ego and stubbornness will be the demise of a once great American company. Sad!

AT&T “leadership” needs to wake up and start making hard decisions about where capital is actually creating value and stop wasting it on nonsense.

Starlink and SpaceX are no longer just interesting companies to watch and laugh about. They represent a serious long term existential threat to traditional telecom like AT&T, and Wall Street is clearly paying attention. The recent 30% decline in AT&T’s stock price reflects the growing concerns about the company’s future and its ability to compete in a changing industry.

AT&T employs roughly 100,000 people, and maintaining a large and widespread office footprint comes with enormous ongoing costs like office leases, utilities, HVAC, water, janitorial services, security, parking, maintenance, supplies, and countless other facilities expenses in the neighborhood of $2B-$4B annually.

A reduction in unnecessary office space and a more flexible virtual first approach could free up tens of billions of dollars used for real competitive investment. That’s capital could be redirected toward the things that will actually determine whether AT&T wins the next decade like network investment, technology, spectrum, AI, innovation, and attracting and retaining top talent.

Instead, we’re continuing to wastefully spend billions on office space each year while also building a new multi billion dollar HQ nobody (besides Stink) wants or needs. At a time when the company is facing its biggest competitive threat in history, is that really the best use of capital?

AT&T doesn’t need to waste more billions proving employees can sit in a building like it’s 1960 in 2026. It needs to spend its available billions proving it can compete in the future, and right now morale is so low because of RTO that nobody here is motivated or cares at all.

If leadership is serious about competing against starlink, then capital should follow strategy. Go after the easy low hanging fruit and reduce the unnecessary facilities and associated costs, rethink archaic RTO requirements, and invest those dollars where they’ll actually generate a real competitive return. Ending the RTO nonsense seems like one of the easiest and most obvious places to start.

Too bad this “leadership” team is full of proven losers who can’t admit they got it wrong, again. One man’s ego and stubbornness will be the demise of a once great American company. Sad!

RAP going away sounds like generic cost cutting to me. But losing all of your vacation at the end of the calendar year just means it’s far cheaper to lay people off in Q1 2027.

How can they lay off AMs, while turning around and immediately adding new AMs?

It seems like what might be really happening is CDW is trying to re-set the payroll with lower paid employees and foregoing the experience, expertise and customer relationships of AMs who were paid more competitively.

I’m sure that’s also happening in other departments.

What could go wrong?🤦🏻‍♂️

I was on a walk behind one of the many buildings at (redacted) today. There was a big yard of vehicle bodies sitting in the sun. There were also many shipping containers. As I walked along one of the containers, I saw a shipping tag that was written in Chinese. I was intrigued by this. So I started looking at the other tags on the shipping containers. Many of them half Chinese, half English. These are cars that cost over $100,000. Shame on general motors for not having American suppliers make these car bodies. And shame on anyone who can lecture someone with a straight face to buy American. It's no longer possible to buy American. The corporation sold out the American worker in so many ways. It's all about the stock prices and executive compensation t this point. They have no loyalty toward anyone/anything but their own bank accounts.
Remember this when they tell you you have to justify your own existence by proposing cost cutting ideas.

iHeartMedia has laid off its last two full-time local on-air personalities in Erie as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative. These layoffs are intended to save the company up to $150 million. The affected stations will now primarily feature syndicated programming from outside the local area. This shift leaves the broadcast studios empty of local talent. Former station owners and employees emphasize the importance of local personalities for listener connection.

Erie, Pennsylvania

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/2026/07/08/iheartmedia-layoffs-erie-pa-radio-rocket-star-bob-wjet/90824485007/

A lotof cliches can be said so I'll spare you the boredom.

They did it again, stakeholder value was retained for a quarter at a cost of competency.

We knew this comany is not here to innovate, I mean the top product is a cheap SharePoint variant and the latest innovation is AI tool that saves you time in copy-paste, if you are willing to spend 6600$ a month to host it.

No one in OT asks themselves why other companies make money while we are not, they ask how can we milk a 30 year old tech with minimal effort and here we are, 2% down anda new announcement that now, this time, finally, for sure - will succeed because the problem was expensive employees not 8ncompetent accountants.

Ever heard about 3% YOY growth that never happens? Yes!
Ever heard about analysts that get fired for getting it wrong? No!
The OT way.. a graveyard for auccessful tech for sale.

I was let go today along with many others at the Waterloo office. Many good people. All very senior, so it is all about cutting cost as much as you can. Happy to leave. Dead products with no future growth.