AT&THR department head Angela Santone has resigned, and the company is about to lay off thousands of employees.

According to the information obtained by Zhītōng Finance APP, Angela Santone, the head of human resources at AT&T (T.US), will leave the company at the end of September. This telecommunications giant is currently implementing a cost-cutting plan totaling $8 billion, which will result in thousands of layoffs.

In an email to employees last week, CEO John Stankey informed them of Santone's departure. She is one of only three female executives at AT&T.

Santone previously served as the head of human resources at Turner, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc, and was brought in to manage the human resources department at AT&T at the end of 2019. At that time, amidst the outbreak of the pandemic, with offices being emptied and employees being laid off, she was responsible for maintaining employee cohesion and a sense of responsibility. She is leaving the company at a time of further turmoil, and the company is currently issuing layoff notices and downsizing its operations.

Due to slowing wireless user growth, AT&T's debt has increased by $6 billion to $143.3 billion, and it faces potential high cable cleanup costs. The company has raised prices for its premium mobile plans to increase revenue and is undergoing a restructuring process, reducing its 350 offices across the United States to 9 core locations primarily in Dallas and Atlanta. AT&T has informed 60,000 managers that they need to personally visit these locations and may face decisions of relocation or dismissal.

Santone's tenure included a period of large-scale layoffs. AT&T has been conducting large-scale layoffs through what it calls "surplus headcount adjustment," with layoffs at the departmental level almost every month to reduce costs. Over the years, the company has stopped disclosing the number of layoffs and only discloses the total number of employees in its quarterly reports and filings. Last week, the company announced that it will increase its $6 billion cost-cutting plan by an additional $2 billion over the next three years. Since the beginning of 2021, as of June 30, AT&T has laid off 74,130 employees, accounting for 32% of its total workforce.

In the email, Stankey wrote, "On behalf of AT&T's leadership, I thank her for her support during this very challenging period." However, AT&T declined to comment on Santone's departure.

During her tenure, an internal program called "Connected Culture" was launched, which aimed to transform the company back to its mission in the telecommunications field after an unsuccessful attempt to enter the streaming media market with an investment of $100 billion, competing with companies like Disney (DIS.US) and Netflix (NFLX.US).

As part of the corporate culture transformation, Santone introduced the concept of employees seeing themselves as brand ambassadors and established feedback meetings to measure employee engagement. Santone also implemented an incentive policy of immediate cash rewards to recognize outstanding employees.