AT&T is preparing to cut its workforce to roughly 85,000 employees by 2030 as artificial intelligence takes over tasks once handled by people, according to a report published by WIRED this month. The telecommunications company, which has already eliminated more than half its staff over the past ten years, is shutting down its legacy copper wire network and using AI to automate internal operations. Chief technology officer Jeremy Legg confirmed the company won't maintain current staffing levels over the next five years, citing workforce comparisons with competitors as part of its decision-making process.
The telecom giant employed nearly 131,000 people as of June 2026, down from about 2,100 positions eliminated in the first half of this year alone. If AT&T continues reducing staff at last year's rate of 8,000 job cuts, the workforce could shrink to approximately 85,000 by decade's end, according to a person familiar with the matter, though AT&T called that figure inaccurate. The company generated less revenue per employee last year than competitors Verizon and T-Mobile, both of which have also laid off workers recently. By year's end, AT&T expects it will no longer need to provide copper service in more than 85 percent of its existing coverage area. The company reported that total energy consumption dropped 13.1 percent from 2020 through the end of 2025, and that moving away from copper since 2024 has saved 660,000 megawatt-hours of electricity, enough to supply about 65,000 homes.
AT&T is deploying AI systems for customer service operations, identifying sites for new cell towers, and detecting maintenance problems on existing ones, according to the report. A generative AI tool the company calls GeoModeler changes network configurations in real time during unusual events like severe weather. Starting next year, AT&T will swap out physical equipment at thousands of central locations with cloud software from Israeli startup DriveNets, letting technicians make changes remotely when customers want faster internet speeds. CEO John Stankey told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference earlier this month that by the end of the decade, AT&T wants to be viewed as a "dramatically different" company with a "fantastic" fiber internet service and "kickass wireless network."
The changes stem from AT&T's effort to modernize operations that still rely on paper records and manual work, such as processing customer requests to disconnect phone service. As more functions become automated, middle management and junior developer positions are expected to vanish. The company is also retiring its energy-intensive copper wire infrastructure that has powered landline telephone and DSL internet for decades, though dropping these services requires approval from state and federal regulators since rural communities may lack alternatives. Chief financial officer Pascal Desroches explained at a conference this month that the move lets the company retire underused infrastructure that consumes significant power and staff attention. Stankey noted there's enough copper in AT&T's network that it probably ranks as the fifth-largest copper mine in the United States. Jobs in the US telecommunications sector have declined for 25 years, but the possibility that AI could speed up this trend while increasing profits has attracted investor interest.
Despite the downsizing, AT&T expects to keep hiring for different types of roles, according to Legg. The company will need people to develop and oversee AI systems and manage processes that would otherwise run entirely on automation. Even with copper infrastructure phased out, technicians will still be required to maintain fiber lines. AT&T has mandated five days in the office for most workers as pandemic restrictions ended, leading to some voluntary departures, and has invested heavily in office amenities in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle, including summer childcare and on-site mental health therapists. Legg says AT&T is concentrating on high-speed fiber and wireless service that Stankey described as "exactly the asset base we want as AI begins to shape the next era of connectivity." Companies betting on automation to trim labor costs while maintaining service quality will face pressure to prove the technology can deliver without sacrificing customer experience or alienating the employees who remain.