Sprint Asking Employees to Please Resign, Pretty Please

Some companies, like Dell, are encouraging employees to take a day or two off—unpaid, natch—to help the company save money. Then there's Sprint. Oh, Sprint. Bleeding cash and customers way before the new great depression took root, its most recent quarter was spectacularly disastrous, so we're not surprised to hear that they asking employees to voluntarily resign by Dec. 3 in exchange for a compensation package to cut costs as deeply as possible.

Says Sprint spokeslady Lisa Zimmerman-Mott:

"What is happening is Sprint is offering a personal decision for employees to take advantage of a voluntary separation package. No one is being forced to do anything. There are no forced reductions. There are no layoffs in store. It's a matter of employees having the option to exercise discretion. No targets have been announced."

Supposedly, improving customer service was one of CEO Dan Hesse's major goals when he took over the beleaguered carrier, but we're wondering how shedding staff is gonna help that. Also, how long before the pink slips go from voluntary to mandatory? We can't help but think this move is simply to make a coming massacre slightly less bloody.