AT&T Is Automating Away Jobs—and Its Old Telecom Empire
The telecom giant is eager to show Wall Street that it can do more with less. That means fewer employees, less electricity, and increased automation.
AT&T, the telecommunications giant, is undergoing significant changes as it automates away jobs and redefines its operations. CEO John Stankey stated that the company does not intend to maintain its current headcount in five years, revealing that the workforce could shrink to around 85,000 by 2030, if the pace of job cuts continues. AT&T has already shed 8,000 employees last year, which could potentially reach 85,000 by the end of the decade.
The company's transition is driven by the increasing capabilities of artificial intelligence tools. AT&T has been leveraging AI systems for customer service, predicting the locations of new cell phone towers, and identifying maintenance issues on existing towers. A generative AI system called GeoModeler adjusts network settings in real-time during rare events like extreme weather.
AT&T is also transitioning from its energy-intensive copper wire network to a cloud-based software solution provided by Israeli startup DriveNets. The shift allows technicians to make remote adjustments, such as when a customer requests faster internet.
Middle management and junior developer roles are expected to diminish as more tasks are automated. AT&T's transition comes at a time when jobs in the US telecommunications industry have been declining for 25 years. However, the potential for AI to boost profits has attracted investors. AT&T's focus on high-speed fiber and wireless service, along with its reduction in copper wire infrastructure, positions the company to offer customers the best connectivity options.
Despite the transition, AT&T remains a major player in the global economy, handling about 15 percent of the world's internet traffic. The company employs nearly 131,000 people, but the AI-driven changes are expected to lead to new job requirements in developing and governing AI agents and overseeing entirely automated processes.
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