Telecommunications firm Verizon Communications Inc. announced second-quarter losses of $198 million, mainly on a one-time severance charge paid out to employees. The company’s voluntary employee buyout program cost the company a one-time charge of $2.3 billion, the New Jersey-based firm said last Friday.
The company’s wireless division—Verizon Wireless—reported sales gains due to the popular Droid line of smartphones. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon and U.K.’s Vodafone Plc. Total revenues due to mobile was $15 billion, an increase of $0.5 million from the same quarter last year.