Verizon is offering 44,000 of its management employees a buyout deal as part of a four-year, $10 billion cost-cutting scheme.

The carrier has confirmed the 44,000 number to The Wall Street Journal, which reported details of the deal last week. This after Verizon inked a $700 million IT outsourcing deal with Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: INFY). (See Verizon Outsources IT, Offers Sweetened Buyout.)

Previous Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) CEO, Lowell McAdam announced the $10 billion, four-year cost-cutting plan on September 14, 2017. New CEO, Hans Vestberg, reaffirmed the plan in January, noting that Verizon planned to keep capital expenditure level despite deploying brand-new 5G mobile infrastructure this year. (See Verizon Says 'Probably No' to Capex Increase After Tax Cut.)

Verizon Wireless had already announced plans to close a third of its US call centers in May, with a loss of 3,000 jobs, and a move to a home-based customer service agents (where eligible). (See Verizon Wireless Closing a Third of US Call Centers, Cutting Customer Service Jobs.)

Verizon currently says it has just over 153,000 employees worldwide. There's no word yet on how many might take the separation offer.

The early retirement program, however, is reportedly the first that Verizon has offered in 13 years. The program provides three weeks of severance pay for every year worked, appearing to target long-time staff.

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading