Ousted Verizon boss might still pocket most of $20M wage as company cuts 15,000 jobs: report
The former Verizon CEO ousted last month by the company’s board might still acquire most of his $20 million pay package deal — even as the telecom big bleeds prospects, its stock sinks and 15,000 workers face layoffs.
Hans Vestberg, the Swedish govt who was pushed out in October, has an ally on the board who insists the departing CEO ought to still get the bulk of his pay, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Vestberg’s complete compensation last 12 months reached $24.16 million, according to SEC filings. That included a $1.5 million base wage plus stock awards and bonuses.
The 59-year-old will serve in an advisory function via October 2026, preserving him on the Verizon payroll for a full 12 months after his ouster.
Hans Vestberg (seen proper being interviewed by tv host Caroline Hyde in May 2024) was eliminated as CEO of Verizon by the board of administrators last month. AP
He’s eligible for a lot of his compensation package deal, value over $20 million, if he hits sure performance thresholds, The Journal reported.
Verizon misplaced 7,000 internet prospects in the third quarter that led to September, lacking Wall Street expectations that it might add 19,000 prospects, according to the publication.
The exec, who was appointed CEO of Verizon in 2018 after serving as CEO of Swedish telecom tools maker Ericsson, had overseen two straight quarters of buyer defections, with a third on the manner.
Vestberg’s complete compensation last 12 months reached $24.16 million, according to SEC filings. That included a $1.5 million base wage plus stock awards and bonuses. Getty Images for The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative
T-Mobile, which was bolstered by its $26 billion merger with Sprint, stored taking market share with lower-cost and higher-quality service, according to The Journal.
Investors have felt the pain as Verizon’s stock has fallen 30% over the past 5 years.
Mark Bertolini, who was put in as Verizon’s new chairman of the board last month, told CNBC the poor outcomes necessitated a change.
“Verizon has gone from number one in market cap, bond ratings and market share to number three,” Bertolini told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“So losing 30% share over the last eight years is an issue, and we have to do something different.”
The board tapped Dan Schulman, the former PayPal CEO who’d been serving as Verizon’s lead unbiased director since 2018, to take over instantly. AP
The board “needed to act, and we acted,” Bertolini said.
When Vestberg took over as CEO in 2018, he pursued a strategy centered on building out Verizon’s 5G network. The company spent more than $50 billion on spectrum to help 5G service, according to The Journal.
Vestberg also spearheaded Verizon’s acquisition of TracFone, the pay as you go mobile supplier, and the roughly $20 billion buy of Frontier, a fiber-internet supplier, The Journal reported.
But those strikes haven’t paid off as supposed, as Verizon stored shedding wi-fi prospects to rivals AT&T and T-Mobile.
The board lastly ran out of endurance with Vestberg at a September assembly in Texas, people conversant in the matter told The Journal.
Vestberg has an ally on the board who insists the departing CEO ought to still get the bulk of his pay, according to the Wall Street Journal. REUTERS
The physique tapped Dan Schulman, the former PayPal CEO who’d been serving as Verizon’s lead unbiased director since 2018, to take over straight away.
Schulman doesn’t seem to have a lot time to show round the company. The 67-year-old’s contract, which runs via 2027, requires a $1.5 million base wage plus stock awards value tens of thousands and thousands tied to the company’s performance, the Journal reported.
Schulman is planning value cuts that are prone to result in the discount of about 15,000 jobs, The Journal reported Thursday. Verizon at present employs about 100,000 people.
A source conversant in the scenario told The Post that the 15,000 determine is “in the ballpark” and that layoff notices are anticipated to be despatched out to affected workers next week.
Verizon supplied $4 million retention bonuses to 2 top executives — shopper group head Sowmyanarayan Sampath and finance chief Anthony Skiadas — to maintain them via a minimum of the end of 2027, according to the Journal.
Schulman told a Wall Street Journal event this week that Verizon must get “scrappier and less bureaucratic.”
Under Vestberg’s management, Verizon’s stock price has misplaced more than 30% of its worth in the last 5 years.
Instead of specializing in network engineering, the company must develop into “obsessed with what customers want,” he said.
“We have not performed for our shareholders,” Schulman admitted. “I’m not afraid at this point in my life to make really hard decisions.”
“We have lost market share, consistently,” he said. “And that cannot continue, going forward.”
“From our perspective, Dan is in charge, he has a mandate and he expects the company to carry it out — and we will,” Rich Young, a Verizon spokesperson, told The Post.
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