One of our insiders tipped us off to potentially some big changes (cough, iPhone, cough) coming to Verizon Wireless at the end of the 2010 calendar year. According to the leaked information, Verizon will be hiring like crazy with the goal of doubling its retail staff in the majority of its retail stores. This hiring boom is rumored to be commencing soon and is timed to coincide with a major product launch slated for December. Details are sparse on the actual launch device but our source seems to think it will be big and will require a veritable army of new workers to handle a tidal wave of incoming customers.
We can let our imaginations run wild with speculation over the identity of this mystery device but the first that comes to mind is the long-rumored iPhone. Verizon Wireless’ executives have been vocal about the iPhone and its inevitable debut on the nation’s largest carrier. Recently, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal set the tech world on fire with information that Apple is in the process of manufacturing a CDMA iPhone. This Pegatron-manufactured Apple phone is thought to be slated for a January launch date.
If this rumored January launch is more fact than fiction, then it is possible that Verizon is preparing to ramp up hiring in order to increase the number of in-store sales representatives that the carrier will need to handle demand for a Verizon iPhone. Demand for a CDMA version of the Apple smartphone is high and Verizon would need to significantly increase the number of employees as an iPhone launch would bring in a “tsunami of customers.” Then again, this ramp-up could be for a busier-than expected holiday season or for an influx of new customers as Verizon begins to fire up LTE in 25-30 local markets.
So what do you think? Is Verizon gearing up for a major product launch, possibly the iPhone, or is this just the normal cycle of hiring and product launches? Is Verizon preparing for that NVIDIA Tegra2-powered, Verizon FiOS TV-enabled tablet device from Motorola? All thoughts and reactions are welcome in the comments.