Comcast to Cut Cable Jobs, Take $1 Billion-Plus Charge as Broadband Losses Deepen

Comcast Corp. plans to cut jobs across its cable, broadband and wireless business and expects a charge exceeding $1 billion in the fourth quarter, as it works to stem customer losses ahead of next year's NBCUniversal spinoff. Shares (CMCSA) closed Thursday at $22.84, up just over 3%. The company lost 144,000 domestic residential broadband customers in the third quarter, up from 91,000 a year earlier. Revenue in its connectivity and platforms business fell 2.7% to nearly $19.7 billion. CFO Jason Armstrong told investors the charge stemmed mostly from "transformation efforts," describing the moves as simplifying to "move faster" rather than cost cutting. Layoffs will be spread throughout the connectivity and platforms unit, with NBCUniversal employees not expected to be targeted, according to people familiar with the matter. Comcast had about 179,000 employees at the end of last year. Broadband is under pressure from fixed wireless and satellite internet including Starlink; Comcast added 368,000 wireless lines in the quarter. The content and experiences business posted $10.5 billion in revenue, up 6.5%, aided by Universal's "The Odyssey," which has grossed nearly $1.8 billion worldwide.