John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions
Jon Chesto
Managing Editor, Print- Boston Business Journal
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Could Verizon’s slowly eroding work force in Massachusetts finally be poised for a rebound?
John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, certainly offered some hope today in his speech and subsequent question-and-answer session at Boston College’s latest Chief Executives’ Club of Boston event.
Stratton, who is based in Basking Ridge, N.J., talked energetically about growing Verizon’s work force in Greater Boston, citing the region’s healthy economy and deep reservoir of tech talent.
“We like it here very much, and we’re looking to continue to grow here in Boston,” Stratton told the crowd.
It’s hard to say how much of it was playing for the home crowd, and how much of what Stratton had to say reflects definitive growth plans. After the speech, Stratton said it’s tough to say exactly if the total net jobs in Massachusetts will grow over the next year or so, given Verizon’s variety of business lines.
But he heaped plenty of praise on the area, and in particular singled out Verizon’s innovation center in Waltham, where about 300 engineers hustle to come up with the best new tech for Verizon’s mobile and fiber-optic customers. In particular, Stratton boasted that key elements of Verizon Wireless’ 4G technology was developed and debuted here.
“These are not just jobs, these are high-paying jobs,” Stratton said of Verizon’s local engineering jobs.
Verizon’s work force in Massachusetts currently stands at about 9,500 people, most of them union members, according to Verizon spokesman Phil Santoro. That total number, Santoro says, has been modestly declining in recent years as the company’s focus and customers’ demands shift away from the company’s labor-intensive copper-line phone business. Santoro says the trend could be bottoming out, but also said the company doesn’t yet know its future employment needs for the region. Let’s hope Stratton’s words end up reflecting corporate strategy as well as diplomacy.
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