Adds more details from announcement, background in paragraphs 3-6

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Verizon VZ.N on Thursday said its consumer division chief Sowmyanarayan Sampath is stepping down, as the U.S. wireless carrier mounts a turnaround effort under its new CEO Dan Schulman.

Sampath had headed the consumer unit since March 2023 and will remain until March 31. Verizon said in a statement its chief transformation officer, Alfonso Villanueva, will serve as interim CEO of Verizon Consumer Group.

In November, Verizon said it would cut 13,000 jobs and convert 179 corporate-owned retail stores into franchised operations. Villanueva joined Verizon in November after previously working with Schulman at PayPal PYPL.O.

"We are at a critical inflection point, improving our customer experience and bringing greater intensity to how we execute," said Schulman, who took over as CEO in October. "As we change and grow, there will be changes in our structure and leadership."

Last month, Verizon suffered a 10-hour outage that disrupted calls, texting and internet usage for millions of customers, prompting the Federal Communications Commission to investigate and Verizon to offer $20 credits.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)

((Email David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com 202-579-6093))