Two former AT&T managers have filed lawsuits alleging the company's 2023 relocation policy was used to force out older employees. The separate complaints, filed in North Carolina and New Jersey, quote CEO John Stankey as stating the company "needed younger people" during the initiative's rollout.
In July 2023, AT&T announced it was calling approximately 60,000 managers back to nine hub offices across the United States. CEO John Stankey stated at the time that around 9,000 managers would face the choice to relocate or leave the company.
CEO's Remarks Cited in Legal Complaints
The lawsuits centre on remarks attributed to Stankey during a company-wide meeting on 26 July 2023. In the livestream, which was not recorded for the corporate intranet according to employees, Stankey is quoted as saying, "We have a mathematical issue... The profile of our workforce does not match the profile of the population of the United States... We need younger people working at this company."
He added that while saying goodbye to experienced staff was "emotional," it was also "a great opportunity for us." More than half a dozen employees previously confirmed these age-related comments to Business Insider.
Details of the Allegations
The April complaint was filed by Lorraine Lopez, a former director who said she was "surplussed" at age 58 after 30 years with the company. Her lawsuit argues that her reassignment from New Jersey to an Atlanta hub was unnecessary and alleges "AT&T at the highest level openly expressed hostility towards its older employees."
An AT&T spokesperson called Lopez's lawsuit "baseless," stating she "chose to leave her job because she did not want to relocate with the rest of her team." The company said it would defend itself in court.
The earlier case, filed in December in North Carolina by former employee Kimberly Wall and currently in mediation, alleges discrimination based on age, gender, and disability. It claims AT&T denied her 2023 requests to continue working remotely on her doctor's recommendation.
Broader Cultural Shift and Impact
Stankey's comments fuelled internal concerns that the relocation mandate was an effort to reduce headcount, particularly among long-tenured staff. In an August 2025 memo, Stankey wrote of transitioning from a culture of "loyalty, tenure, and conformance" to one focused on "rewarding capability, contribution, and commitment."
Internal data showed about half of the 318 managerial workers in one division who were notified to move in the 2023 wave declined and left the company. AT&T's total workforce shrank from over 160,000 at the start of 2023 to approximately 133,000 by the beginning of this year.
The relocation policy was followed by a stricter five-day in-office mandate, replacing the previous hybrid model. The company has not yet filed formal responses to the lawsuits in court.