Wireless service provider Sprint (News - Alert) Nextel Corp reportedly will soon be laying off several thousand workers in a cost-cutting measure initiated by new CEO Dan Hesse.

 

Wall Street Journal broke the news Monday afternoon, attributing its information to “people familiar with the matter.”

 

Hesse took his new post in December, and apparently is getting serious about showing shareholders he’s committed to whatever cost-cutting measures are necessary to keep the company operating in the black.

 

A year ago Sprint announced a cut of 5,000 jobs, layoffs now complete, bringing the company’s workforce to just under 60,000, Reuters said. Reportedly Sprint is also considering consolidating its headquarters in Kansas.

 

As of the publishing of this article, Sprint had not yet confirmed or denied the rumor about more job cuts, saying only in a written statement that it does not comment on speculation, Kansas City Business Journal reported.

 

Apparently because the news broke late in the afternoon, New York Stock Exchange prices for shares of Sprint were mostly unaffected by the news as of last trade before closing: $12.36 at 4:00 p.m., up $0.11 from previous close of $12.25.