AT&T plans to cut staff further as it moves away from landlines and automates internal systems. Jeremy Legg, the company’s chief technology officer, told WIRED that this downsizing will lower electricity usage.
“We’re not going to have the same headcount in five years as we do today,” Legg said. He noted that comparing staffing levels to competitors influences these decisions. Public financial disclosures show AT&T generated less revenue per employee last year than Verizon and T-Mobile. Both rivals have reduced their workforces in recent months.
If the current pace continues, the workforce could fall to around 85,000 employees by 2030. A source familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described that number as the company’s target. AT&T called the figure inaccurate. The telecom giant cut approximately 2,100 jobs in the first half of 2026.
By the end of the decade, AT&T aims to be a “dramatically different” company with a “fantastic” fiber internet service and a “kickass wireless network.” CEO John Stankey made these comments at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco earlier this month.
Legacy systems and new tools
AT&T’s shift shows how older companies are rebuilding operations as artificial intelligence tools grow more capable. The firm has existed for 150 years and remains a major part of the global economy. Legg stated it handles about 15 percent of the world’s internet traffic and employed nearly 131,000 people as of June.
Some decades-old systems still rely on paper records. Workers previously handled manual tasks, such as disconnecting phone service for customers. That work is now being automated.
The company uses AI systems for customer service, identifying locations for new cell phone towers, and finding maintenance issues on existing ones. A generative AI system called GeoModeler adjusts network settings during rare events like extreme weather. Like many firms, AT&T uses AI to generate software code and manage service issues.
Cloud software and job roles
Starting next year, AT&T will replace physical hardware at thousands of central hubs with cloud software from Israeli startup DriveNets. AT&T is an investor in the startup. Technicians will make adjustments remotely, such as when a customer requests faster internet.
As tasks become automated, middle management and junior developer roles are expected to disappear. Jobs in the US telecommunications industry have been declining for 25 years, according to government data. Investors remain interested in how AI can accelerate this trend and boost profits.
Retiring copper networks
AT&T is decommissioning the energy-intensive copper wire network that powered its landline telephone and DSL internet networks. Dropping these services generally requires approval from state and federal regulators because rural areas may lack alternatives. Local protests have met the company’s plans in some communities.
By the end of this year, AT&T expects it will no longer have to offer copper in more than 85 percent of its existing footprint.
“What it allows us to do is to retire underutilized infrastructure, and infrastructure that is absorbing a lot of power and personnel attention,” Pascal Desroches, AT&T’s chief financial officer, said at a different conference earlier this month.
AT&T declined to share exact figures about electricity usage. In July, the company stated its total energy consumption fell 13.1 percent from 2020 through the end of 2025. Since 2024, shifting away from copper has saved the firm 660,000 megawatt-hours of electricity. This is enough to power about 65,000 homes.
“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,” Stankey said at the Goldman Sachs conference this month.
Competition and culture
AT&T is focusing on high-speed fiber and wireless service. Stankey described this as “exactly the asset base we want as AI begins to shape the next era of connectivity.” Wall Street has questioned AT&T and its peers about competition from Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The satellite internet service Starlink is nascent but growing fast.
Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are cooperating on satellite service. Legg says they are looking at working with various tech providers, including potentially Starlink. He believes fiber will remain cheaper than satellite services, which also do not work everywhere. AT&T should be well positioned to offer the best option for customers.
Inside the company, the AI transition meets some hesitancy. As pandemic restrictions eased, AT&T returned to requiring five days in the office for most workers. This led to natural attrition. Legg said AT&T’s culture was deteriorating, and companies focused on improving culture have returned to offices.
The firm has invested heavily in the office experience in Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle. These include a summer childcare program and on-site mental health therapists. Legg praised the coffee machine outside his office.
AT&T views the investment as worthwhile. It expects to continue hiring even as it shrinks its overall workforce, just for a different mix of roles. People will be needed to develop and govern AI agents and oversee automated processes, Legg said. Even with copper gone, technicians will maintain fiber lines.
