T-Mobile Acquisition Fallout: Shentel Wireless Job Cuts Create 'Disruption and Uncertainty'

Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) is cutting about 340 workers, or 30% of its workforce, as it prepares to sell Shentel Wireless to T-Mobile.

In February, Shentel said it will sell its wireless assets to T-Mobile. The sale is part of T-Mobile‘s purchase of Sprint last year. T-Mobile is acquiring the Shentel assets for nearly $2 billion in cash.

Shentel will use the proceeds to pay down some debt and issue a cash dividend to its shareholders.

T-Mobile completed its $26 billion acquisition of Sprint in April 2020. Last August, T-Mobile notified Shentel that it’s exercising its option to buy its wireless operations.

Shentel has been a Sprint exclusive personal communications service (PCS) affiliate. It covers large portions of central and western Virginia, south-central Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Kentucky and Ohio.

Multistate Layoffs

The job cuts are across Shentel’s six-state mid-Atlantic service area. About 90% of the reductions are employees who support wireless operations; they are those who don’t automatically transfer to T-Mobile as part of the transaction.

Christopher French is Shentel‘s president and CEO.

Shentel’s Christopher French

“We announced to our employees today the necessary plans to begin to reduce the size of our workforce for the anticipated divestiture of our wireless assets and operations,” he said. “Although this change was anticipated, its impact will cause disruption and uncertainty for the affected employees and their families. We are coordinating with T-Mobile to assist in transitioning as many of the affected employees as possible to T-Mobile following closing of the transaction.”

Most of the impacted workers will exit the company following the closing of the Shentel Wireless sale and any required transition services. The closing should occur early in the third quarter. It’s subject to customary closing conditions and required regulatory approvals.

Shentel will have about 860 employees following the restructuring to support its broadband and tower segments.

“We are proactively providing career transition services to all impacted employees, regardless of whether they are hired by T-Mobile, to help them during this time,” French said.