Charter confirms around 1,000 job cuts amid price increases

Cable company Charter Communications is cutting around 1,000 jobs as part of its efforts to consolidate its call center operations.

"Spectrum continues to invest in its network, technology and employees to deliver an exceptional customer experience. Our call center operations are a critical part of that experience, in which we invest and evolve to meet the changing needs of our customers. As part of that change, customer service call center operations in these locations will be transitioned to other in-house US-based centers that will offer employees more resources and opportunities in addition to allowing us to deliver information, training and technology to our representatives more efficiently," the company said in a statement to Light Reading.

Charter said it would work to transfer some affected employees to open jobs in other locations.

In its latest financial filing, Charter reported around 101,000 full-time employees.

News of Charter's cuts trickled out across a number of local reports, from Columbus, Ohio; to Austin, Texas; to Rochester, Minnesota; to Walker, Michigan; to Madison, Wisconsin; to Ontario, California.

In a sign of Charter's difficult financials, the company also confirmed to NextTV that it would raise rates on some of its services for the second time in less than six months.

Similar industry moves

Charter isn't the only US cable company to cut jobs in recent weeks. Cable operator Cable One said it will shave 4% of its employees – around 120 positions – in an effort to "enhance the company's ability to grow."

Nor is Charter alone in raising prices. AT&T said it will raise prices on some older plans by $10 per month for a single line of service or $20 per month for multiple lines. The financial analysts at Wolfe Research estimated that price hike would help raise AT&T's wireless service revenue growth in 2024 by around 3.2% year-over-year, up from the firm's previous estimate of a 3% rise.

Charter, like other players in the cable industry, has been buffeted by a number of factors including the rise of fixed wireless access (FWA) services from the likes of T-Mobile and Verizon. The company is also experiencing a period of relative stability among its customers due to the lower number of Americans moving to a new residence – a big driver for customer additions in the US broadband industry. Finally, Charter is also being affected by the shutdown of the US government's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Charter reported the loss of 72,000 broadband subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, more than analysts had expected.