Verizon Wireless Readies Price Cuts, Plans to Close Call Centers Amid Rising Competition

After largely eschewing the wave of price cuts that have swept through the cellphone service business, Verizon Wireless appears poised to announce a new set of cheaper rate plans on Thursday.

According to a data sheet on the new plans leaked to Android Police, Verizon will be increasing the amount of data for Share Everything customers and cutting monthly costs by $10 to $20 for those who finance their device using a Verizon Edge program rather than opting for a subsidized phone.

The company is teasing tomorrow’s moves, but declined to comment on the specifics.

Verizon is also closing five customer call centers, including locations in Cranberry Woods, Pa., and Meriden, Conn. The company will also close part of its call center operations in Irvine, Calif.; Warrendale, Pa.; and Folsom, Calif. In all, the move will affect about 3,000 workers, who will have the option of relocating or taking a severance package. An additional 2,200 workers will be reassigned to similar positions within driving distance of their current office, Verizon said. The closings are set to take place in May, a Verizon spokesman told Re/code.

The moves come amid growing price pressure in the industry, an effort largely kicked off last year when No. 4 U.S. carrier T-Mobile moved to do away with phone subsidies and simultaneously cut service plan prices. T-Mobile also introduced an early upgrade program.

AT&T and Verizon responded with various early upgrade programs but have been reluctant to cut prices. AT&T, though, announced earlier this month that it was cutting prices on some family plans. Analysts had been speculating that Verizon would not be able to hold out much longer without some sort of price move.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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