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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Sprint's place among the big four US wireless carriers continues to be a precarious one [arstechnica.com], with news reports saying the company now aims to reduce its number of employees and cut between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in costs over the next six months.

A memo from Sprint management to staff said there will be a hiring freeze and "job reductions," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sprint announced days ago that it will skip a major auction of low-band spectrum, a decision that could push the company further behind its rivals. Sprint has licenses to more spectrum than any other carrier, but AT&T and Verizon control a large majority of low-band spectrum, which is ideal for providing coverage over long distances and indoors. T-Mobile says it intends to buy enough low-band spectrum to cover the entire nation; Sprint says it can improve coverage with its existing spectrum by increasing the number of cell towers.

"Cutting $2.5 billion in costs is an ambitious target," the Journal wrote. "The company had $7.5 billion in operating expenses during the three months ended June 30. The company has said previously it cut $1.5 billion in expenses in the last 12 months... Sprint hasn’t posted an annual profit since 2006. In the most recent quarter, it posted a $20 million loss and burned through $2.2 billion in cash."

What's the plan B for Sprint customers, which carrier will they jump to?

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