D.C. Memo: Cable One to Cut Workforce by 4%, Take $7 Million Cash Charge

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Cable One: In a filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, broadband ISP Cable One said that it was laying off 4% of its workforce and taking a $7 million charge in the second quarter largely in the form of worker severance payments. Phoenix-based Cable One said it hoped to cut costs by $14 million. Cable One has about 3,000 employees. The layoffs were part of an organizational change “intended to enhance the company’s ability to grow, retain and serve customers and streamline its operations,” it said. The company indicated that the cuts would be felt most at the customer-support level, saying it was “streamlining the company’s customer service organization to optimize functional management and better align with the company’s service delivery model.” In the first quarter, Cable One added 7,200 broadband subscribers, ending with 1.06 million. But revenue fell to $404.3 million, a 2.8% decline year over year, and net income came in at $47.3 million, down 17.6%. In a key metric, Cable One said its Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) fell 2.7%, from $83.58 to $81.33 – the fallout from price cuts to blunt competition from fiber overbuilders and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) operators like T-Mobile and Verizon. Cable One shares closed Thursday at $358.22 – down about 85% from their Dec. 2020 all-time high of $2,326.80.