Sprint Nextel is planning to lay off several thousand employees, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The report adds that the company’s new CEO, Dan Hesse, is also considering consolidating the company’s headquarters in Overland Park. The operator currently has corporate headquarters in Reston, Va., and operational headquarters in Overland Park.

Sprint Nextel, which has about 60,000 employees, cut its workforce by 5,000 last year. The operator, the third biggest mobile carrier in the U.S. by subscribers, is among several U.S. companies that have recently said the country’s housing crunch and economic downturn have taken a toll on their business. Analysts, however, have been quick to point out that the cutbacks appear to be a response to Sprint’s operational performance in the past year, not a result of a slowing economy. Sprint, which has 54 million mobile customers, is trailing rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless in subscriber additions and has been accused of poor customer service. Mr. Hesse stepped into the top job in December amid deepening investor unease.