Over the last ten years, AT&T has cut more than half of its workforce, and now it is automating away jobs even as it sheds employees. The company says it will keep cutting staff as it prepares for the AI era. That means AT&T is placing a large bet on automation, cloud software, and moving away from its old copper wire networks — all while promising to become a very different business by the end of the decade.
WIRED spoke with AT&T’s chief technology officer, Jeremy Legg, who said the company will not carry the same number of employees in five years as it does now. He also noted that comparisons to other companies’ staffing levels factor into choices about hiring and cutting jobs. Financial reports show that AT&T brought in less revenue per worker last year than its rivals Verizon and T-Mobile, both of which have cut staff recently.
The Numbers Behind the Layoffs
AT&T’s workforce could reach about 85,000 employees by 2030 if the company continues shedding staff at the rate it did last year, when it lost 8,000 people. A source close to the situation, who was not permitted to speak on behalf of the company, said that number represents AT&T’s goal. The company denied the figure is accurate. So far this year, through the first half of 2026, AT&T has reduced its headcount by roughly 2,100.
As of June, the company employed roughly 131,000 individuals. Its existence spans 150 years, and it remains a significant player in the global economy. According to Legg, AT&T is responsible for approximately 15 percent of the world’s internet traffic.
What Automation Looks Like Today
AT&T’s older systems continue to rely on paper records for some processes, including ones that demand manual labor from staff. A customer who wishes to cancel their phone service must go through such a procedure. Now, that particular task is being handled by automation.
AT&T relies on AI systems for customer service, for spotting where new cell phone towers should go, and for tracking maintenance problems on current ones. A generative AI system called GeoModeler, which the company uses, changes network settings on the fly during rare events like extreme weather. The company also employs AI to produce software code and assist with managing service issues.
Beginning next year, AT&T plans to swap physical hardware at thousands of central hubs for cloud software from DriveNets, an Israeli startup in which AT&T holds an ownership stake. The move will give technicians the ability to make changes from afar, including when a customer asks for a quicker internet connection. As automation grows, a number of middle management and junior developer positions are expected to vanish.
The Copper Network Is Going Away
The copper wire network that has long powered AT&T’s landline telephone and DSL internet services is being taken down. Before dropping these services, approval from state and federal regulators is usually needed because rural areas may not have other choices available to them. Local protests have already appeared in some communities over the company’s plans.
By the close of this year, AT&T predicts copper will no longer be required across more than 85 percent of its current footprint. Pascal Desroches, the company’s chief financial officer, stated at a conference earlier this month that letting go of infrastructure that isn’t being used lets AT&T stop taking on power and personnel attention.
AT&T declined to share exact figures about its electricity usage, but the company said in July that its total energy consumption fell 13.1 percent from 2020 through the end of 2025. Since 2024, shifting away from copper has saved AT&T 660,000 megawatt-hours worth of electricity, or enough to power about 65,000 homes.
Earlier this month, Stankey spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco, where he said that “There’s a bunch of copper out there that probably makes AT&T the fifth-largest copper mine in the United States right now, seriously.”.
The Competition From Musk
Stankey has described AT&T’s high-speed fiber and wireless service as “exactly the asset base we want as AI begins to shape the next era of connectivity.”, and the company is leaning into those offerings. However, Wall Street has pressed AT&T and its peers about potential competition from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose Starlink satellite internet service is growing quickly even though it remains relatively new.
A trio of carriers — Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T — are collaborating on satellite service, and they’re keeping open the possibility of working with a range of tech providers, including potentially Starlink, according to Legg. He holds that fiber will stay cheaper than satellite services, which also won’t work everywhere, so AT&T will be well placed to offer customers the best option for their situation.
Culture Pushes Back Against the Cuts
The shift toward artificial intelligence has not been warmly received within the firm. When pandemic rules were eased, AT&T brought back a requirement for most employees to spend five days working from the office, which led to a certain amount of turnover. Legg argues that AT&T’s culture was weakening, and businesses intent on rebuilding their workplace atmosphere have likewise brought staff back into the office.
AT&T has “put gobs of money” into the office experience in places such as Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle, including a summer childcare program and on-site mental health therapists, Legg says. He raves about the “amazing” coffee machine now outside his office.
The firm sees the spending as justified since it plans on keeping hiring going while shrinking its total staff — just for a different set of jobs. Workers will be required to build and manage AI agents.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Earlier this month | Stankey spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco |
| Earlier this month | Desroches spoke at a separate conference |
| First half of 2026 | AT&T cut some 2,100 jobs |
| 2020–2025 | Total energy consumption fell 13.1 percent |
| Next year | AT&T replaces physical hardware with DriveNets cloud software |
What We Make of This
The US telecommunications industry has lost jobs for 25 years, per government numbers, and AT&T is not the only company affected by that decline. Investors are being drawn to the possibility that AI could push the trend further and raise corporate profits.
AT&T is wagering that automation can improve service while reducing expenses — and that its remaining staff will tolerate a transformed workplace. The company is pouring resources into offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle while shedding jobs at the same time.
The question of whether AT&T can actually achieve a “dramatic” transformation still hangs in the air. Its stated goals include cutting down on its workforce, reducing its reliance on copper infrastructure, and pivoting toward fiber and wireless instead — all while dealing with a competitor led by someone known for moving quickly and breaking things.
The coming years will show whether AT&T’s automation strategy pays off, or whether the company’s old empire proves harder to dismantle than anyone expected.
Source material: “AT&T Is Automating Away Jobs—and Its Old Telecom Empire,” WIRED.
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