T-Mobile USA plans to eliminate 900 jobs as part of a new round of cost savings and restructuration aimed at offsetting declining prepaid subscriber numbers, Bloomberg reported, citing a memo sent from CEO Philipp Humm. T-Mobile USA lost 510,000 contract customers in the first quarter. Under its restructuring plan, the company is also targeting more-aggressive rebranding in its ad campaigns as it seeks to cut costs by USD 900 million, Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Hoettges said at a JPMorgan Chase & Co investors conference in Boston. T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Telekom executives are visiting analysts and investors this week and next to outline the new strategy. After AT&T dropped its USD 39 billion bid for the carrier in December, Deutsche Telekom is working to make the unit a self-funding venture, which would open the possibility for a merger or a potential public offering of T-Mobile USA shares. The company also has hired bankers, including TAP Advisors LLC, to sell a large portion of its network towers and has said it will spend USD 4 billion over two years on LTE network construction. While T-Mobile does not have an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone, the network is being upgraded to be compatible with the device, Hoettges also said.
