AT&T Expects More Job Cuts but Rejects Reported 85,000-Worker Target

AT&T expects to employ fewer people in five years, technology chief Jeremy Legg told WIRED. The company also rejected a reported estimate that its workforce would fall to 85,000 by 2030. The distinction matters for workers trying to understand what comes next: AT&T is automating tasks, but it has not put a number on the jobs that work might replace.

Legg said AT&T compares its staffing with peers when making decisions. WIRED found that AT&T generated less revenue per employee last year than Verizon or T-Mobile, using public financial disclosures. That comparison helps explain the pressure to do more with fewer people; it does not, on its own, say which AT&T jobs will go or why.

The target AT&T disputes

The 85,000 figure is not AT&T guidance. WIRED calculated that its workforce could approach that level by 2030 if cuts continued at last year’s pace. A person familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly, described it as a company target. AT&T called the figure inaccurate. Legg’s statement establishes a direction for headcount, not an agreed endpoint.

AT&T employed nearly 131,000 people in June, after cutting about 2,100 jobs in the first half of 2026. It shed 8,000 people last year, the pace behind WIRED’s projection. Those figures show a continuing decline, but extending one year’s cuts through 2030 is a scenario, not a confirmed staffing plan.

Nearly 131,000Employees in June 2026

WIRED reported that AT&T employed nearly 131,000 people as of June 2026.

8,000Jobs cut in 2025

WIRED used the 2025 reduction to calculate its disputed 2030 projection.

About 2,100Jobs cut in first half of 2026

AT&T cut about 2,100 jobs during the first six months of 2026.

What the software is taking on

The move toward automation is visible in ordinary work. Some older AT&T systems still rely on paper records and manual steps, including when a customer disconnects phone service. AT&T is automating some of those processes. It also uses AI for customer service, finding sites for new cell towers, spotting maintenance issues on existing towers, writing software code and managing service problems.

Those uses span both office and network tasks. A tool that helps a worker handle a service issue is different from a process that no longer needs someone to carry out each step. WIRED says some middle-management and junior-developer roles are expected to disappear as more tasks are automated. That is a reported expectation about roles, not a count of jobs already lost to AI.

A smaller workforce, with different jobs

Legg said AT&T still expects to hire while reducing its total workforce. He identified a need for people to develop and govern AI agents and to oversee processes that otherwise run automatically. The company will also need technicians to maintain fiber lines. Hiring for those jobs could happen alongside cuts elsewhere; it does not mean affected workers will move into the new roles.

Automation is not the only factor in the workforce picture. AT&T’s enforced five-day office policy for most workers has led to some natural attrition, according to WIRED. Legg argued that returning to offices would help a deteriorating culture. His account describes another way headcount can fall, separate from both layoffs and replacing a task with software.

For now, AT&T has confirmed the direction of its workforce change and challenged the most specific reported destination. What remains unresolved is how much of the reduction will come from automation, how much from other decisions, and which roles AT&T will continue to fill as the mix changes.