Virgin Mobile cuts workforce

We heard last April that Virgin Mobile might be cutting some jobs. Back then, the rumor claimed 300 jobs would be slashed, but Jayne Wallace, VP of Corporate Communications, set the record straight. This week, we learned of actual layoffs. Virgin will cut 45 jobs, which amounts to 10 percent of their workforce. This is a drastic decrease from the rumored 300, which would account for two thirds of their employees.

While economic times certainly have to have a role in this, they seem not to be the main reasons for the layoffs. The company cites the acquisition of Helio as part of it, as well as the outsourcing of IT jobs to IBM. CEO Dan Schulman isn’t worried about the economy, stating that his company is “is “well positioned to weather these tough times and build our business in 2009.”

Unfortunately, shareholders didn’t exactly agree. The company’s stock fell 10.6 percent upon hearing the announcement. Here’s something for you. That 10.6 percent drop amounted to 11 cents, bringing the company’s stock to 93 cents. Virgin went public just over a year ago, opening at $15 per share and growing to $15.76 the first day.

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