AT&T Announces Q4 Morale Reduction

AT&T joined the sad conga line of companies laying off workers, announcing on Thursday the elimination of 12,000 jobs. That’s roughly four percent of its workforce. The company cited “economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure” as the rationale for the move. It expects to take a fourth-quarter severance-related charge of about $600 million.

Ugly news for the company’s workforce, which has already seen its headcount reduced by 4,600 this year as part of a reorganization of AT&T’s shrinking landline business.

Shares of AT&T (T), which have dropped by about 30 percent this year, slipped another 2.7 percent in pre-market trading.