Telstra Slash 650 Jobs

Telstra to cut 650 staff from Sensis business

Telstra’s Sensis yellow pages directory, which has suffered a hit in the digital age, is cutting 648 jobs nationally, it has been confirmed.

The cuts will include 391 back of house and customer care roles for  White and Yellow Pages which will be outsourced, possibly to India or Philippines, reports suggest.

Sensis Managing Director, John Allan, confirmed the move and said the proposals to cut staff are now the subject of consultation with staff and unions.

Sensis currently employs approximately 3500 staff.

Telstra also announced a restructure of Sensis’ business model to “accelerate its transition to a digital media business.”

The proposed restructure includes a new digital Customer Management Centre with 50 new roles.

“Sensis needs to change in order to compete effectively,” said Telstra’s Sensis boss.

“While these decisions are never easy, they are designed to position the company for future digital growth.”

“Until now we have been operating with an outdated print-based model – this is no longer sustainable for us.

“As we have made clear in the past, we will continue to produce Yellow and White Pages books to meet the needs of customers and advertisers who rely on the printed directories, but our future is online and mobile where the vast majority of search and directory business takes place,” Allen said.

More than 60% of Sensis customers now are advertising online and in mobile apps.

White and Yellow Pages digital services received 18.4 million hits in January last.

Telstra is also proposing reduced duplication of senior and middle management roles and improved IT capabilities.

“We need to simplify our operation and invest in areas that make us more efficient, and meet our customers’ growing demand for online and mobile services,” said Allen.