Just days after Lumen Technologies completed its $475 million Alkira acquisition, we learned that it is eliminating roles in its Global Partner Solutions team as part of a restructuring.
James Anderson of Channel Dive broke the story that Lumen informed approximately 90 employees July 1 that their roles would be eliminated. The layoffs were part of a move from voice and into network-as-a-service and Alkira’s on-demand networking platform.
In an email to Channel Dive, a Lumen spokesperson said: “We are making difficult but necessary changes to align our workforce to business needs and strategic priorities. We recently took steps to further align our commercial resources to Lumen’s goals, including the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles within our Growth organization.”
Channel Dive also reported that Lumen will end compensation for new sales of voice. Instead, it is focusing on providing connectivity to enterprises and data centers to power AI inference.
During Lumen’s first quarter earnings call in May, it reported revenue of $2.9 billion – a decline of 8.9% year-over-year. Its EBITDA of $849 million was also down from $929 million the previous year. Lumen also announced the Alkira deal on that call as CEO Kate Johnson called Alkira “bull's eye in terms of strategic alignment and value creation.”
“The vision for Lumen and Alkira is all about simplifying the customer experience, providing them quick, secure and effortless connections between people, data and applications,” Johnson said. “We're going to deliver one network, any cloud, total control globally.”
She said the acquisition gives Lumen world-class physical infrastructure, a programmable network and an ecosystem of connected clouds, applications and partners. “Together, they solve the complexity problem by forming a comprehensive platform designed for AI and rooted in simplicity,” Johnson said.
What This Means for Channel Partners
Tech advisor Nabila Lulow, president of NobleOne Consultants, wrote on LinkedIn that Lumen’s shift reflects a broader transformation in go-to-market strategies across the industry.
“Traditional voice and connectivity services are becoming increasingly commoditized, while organizations are investing heavily in AI, automation, customer experience, and data-driven solutions,” Nabila wrote.
“For technology advisors, partners, and sales professionals, this is a reminder that adapting isn't optional…it's essential. The opportunity is no longer just selling connectivity. “
Lulow said the opportunity is now helping customers answer questions such as how AI can improve customer and employee experience, where automation can reduce costs and improve service and what the roadmap looks like over the next three to five years.