10,400 Verizon employees select a voluntary buyout

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Communications company Verizon announced Monday that 10,400 of its employees have accepted its buyout offer.

The voluntary separation, offering 44,000 eligible employees up to 60 weeks of salary, bonus and benefits, was taken by 7 percent of Verizon's global workforce of 152,300. The offer, first announced in September, is part of a companywide goal to save $10 billion in cash by 2021.

It also helps realign Verizon's organizational structure in view of its entry into 5G network service, the company said in a statement Monday.

"These changes are well-planned and anticipated, and they will be seamless to our customers," Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said in a letter to employees. "This is a moment in time, given our financial and operational strength, to begin to better serve customers with more agility, speed and flexibility."

The departing employees' last day of service will occur at the end of 2018, or in March or June in 2019, depending on the needs of the company.