Sprint put out a statement late Monday saying that Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer is leaving the company, effective immediately and that the COO job is being eliminated. The statement said Gary Forsee, president and CEO of the company, will be handling Lauer's duties.

Lauer had been with Sprint for the last eight years, and formerly had been president of the long-distance division, and at one time oversaw both long-distance and wireless services. Forsee has been with the company since 2003, after a tenure as an executive at BellSouth.

Sprint earlier this month reported that its second quarter profit declined 13% and that it saw declines in its wholesale subscriber base, an area in which it has heavily invested in support of MVNOs such as Mobile ESPN.