LOS ANGELES (AP) — Four executives are leaving Sprint Nextel Corp. in a reorganization that will combine the sales and marketing functions for both its consumer and business units.

Spokesman Scott Sloat confirmed the move, which was laid out in a memo sent by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse on Friday.

The news was reported earlier by Reuters.

Sprint is in the midst of a costly upgrade to put its phones on a "4G" network, and Hesse expressed the need to become more efficient in the memo.

Sprint shares fell 5 cents, or 2.2 percent, to close at $2.19 on Friday.