Dish Network has cut jobs and is re-evaluating its business model in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.

The satellite TV provider did not disclose the number of employees laid off. The company had 16,000 employees as of December 31.

Dish Network aims to become the fourth telecom carrier in the wake of the completion of the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. Dish Network will be spending $10 billion to build its 5G network.

“The pandemic has forced us to take a closer look at every aspect of our business, at our work volumes, our areas of focus and investments, and the performance of our team members,” Dish Network CEO Erik Carlson told employees in an internal memo.

“I want you to hear directly from me that we’ve made a series of difficult decisions to re-evaluate parts of our business, particularly within In Home Services,” he added.

Dish has struggled to retain pay-TV subscribers as it repositions itself as a wireless phone carrier, as customers are shifting to online streaming services including those from Netflix, Apple and Walt Disney.

Dish Network’s pay-TV business, which includes satellite TV and streaming service Sling TV, lost 194,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2019, fewer than the 334,000 lost a year earlier.

Sling TV had 94,000 fewer subscribers in the fourth quarter, its first subscriber loss ever.
Fourth quarter revenue of Dish Network dipped 2.1 percent to $3.24 billion from $3.31 billion in the year-ago quarter.