The US-based wireless carrier company, Verizon has announced 10,400 employees have accepted voluntary separation offer.

In an attempt to cut cost and ramp up its investment in the next-generation 5G network, the company announced the buyout program in September as part of its effort to trim its workforce.

Verizon has revealed that 10,400 management employees had accepted voluntary buyout deals, out of 44,000 who were eligible.

The separation program included the policy which included the employees to get a salary of up to 60 weeks, bonus and benefits, depending on the length of their service.

The current buyout program is not the Verizon’s history. Earlier in 2003, 21,600  Verizon employees accepted a voluntary buyout, with a two-week severance offer that was much less acceptable than the deal workers are being given now. The overall acceptance rate was just 14 percent, as opposed to almost 24 percent of eligible workers this time around.

Another factor that contributes to the higher acceptance rate of the buyout program is the better labor market. According to Peter Cappelli, Director of Wharton's School of Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania shared in media saying the unemployment rate is now at 3.7 percent, compared to 5.8 percent when Verizon last offered buyouts. This means those workers have figured out that they have a good chance of taking the money and finding another job. He further shared, “The hotter the labor market is; the more likely people are to say, 'Sure, I'll take this, thank you very much.”

It is reported that the employees who have the deal would have a final date at the company ranging from the end of 2018 through June 2019.