Sprint Nextel announces headquarters will leave Reston
By Claire Compton
Sprint Nextel announced today what has been rumored for weeks; that Reston's corporate headquarters, employing 4,400, will be merged with its operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.
A release from the company states only a small number of executives will be relocated to Kansas, although CEO Dan Hesse said the company “will retain a very significant employee presence in Reston.”
Hesse added that the move is being made to create a “single, performance-based company.”
A Reston employee told the Times in January that the company has struggled with merging the two cultures since Sprint and Nextel merged in 2005.
“The main feeling from legacy Nextel people is that all decisions have been made by legacy Sprint without consideration for the future. They have a history of putting band aids on problems where Nextel would fix issues at the core,” she said.
The company announced on Jan. 18 that it would layoff 4,000 employees, after fourth-quarter results showed a net loss of 683,000 post-paid subscribers and 202,000 traditional pre-paid subscribers.
Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority said in an email that the company's intention to keep jobs in Reston is a smart one.
“We are sorry to lose the headquarters operation, but it is important that the company is going to keep the vast majority of its jobs here because this is where it can find the kind of workforce it needs,” he said.