Marcelo Claure, on taking the helm at Sprint, has sent employees a memo with an emphasis on cost efficiency.

As is the way with ‘internal memos’, they usually get leaked and Claure’s was picked up by Bloomberg.

“In the short term, our success will come from our focus on becoming extremely cost efficient and competing aggressively in the marketplace,” Claure wrote, which seems to indicate job cuts are on the way.

After the failed merger with nearest rival T-Mobile US, Sprint chairman Masayoshi Son brought in “street fighter” Claure – formerly CEO of phone distributor Brightstar – to turn around the fortunes of the third-biggest mobile operator in the US.

Under Dan Hesse, Claure’s predecessor, Sprint had developed the worrying habit of bleeding customers.

Claure, in a press release announcing his appointment last week, said “consolidation makes sense in the long term,” but that his focus was on growing and repositioning Sprint.

A company-wide meeting with employees is scheduled for 14 August, said the new CEO.