Telstra has confirmed it will introduce major job cuts but has yet to spell out how many heads will roll in its bid to rationalise its business. It has declined to confirm a Financial Review report that it will cut 6000 staff over the next three years as part of its $1 billion plan to arrest its sliding financial performance.
Telstra has confirmed it will introduce major job cuts but has yet to spell out how many heads will roll in its bid to rationalise its business. It has declined to confirm a Financial Review report that it will cut 6000 staff over the next three years as part of its $1 billion plan to arrest its sliding financial performance.
Continuing conjecture about its future saw Telstra shares slide to an all-time low on the ASX yesterday, finishing the day at $2.62, down six cents.
The company told investors on Wednesday it would incur $220 million in redundancy costs in the 2010-11 financial year. But Telstra says the company has not determined how many jobs it will cut as part of the program.
The latest redundancies follow more than 12,000 ordered by former CEO Sol Trujillo.
A spokesman yesterday told CDN that Telstra’s number one priority is to improve customer satisfaction. “We will do this by simplifying customer processes, reducing bureaucracy especially in management layers, and introducing optional self-service systems online,” he said.
“These initiatives will allow Telstra to provide a higher quality of customer service – and unfortunately require fewer staff over time.
“Telstra has not confirmed the number of affected employees – and when we do, we will first speak directly to them. It is always difficult to make decisions that inevitably affect jobs.”
He said Telstra offers retraining and generous redundancy arrangements to affected employees.
Telstra CEO David Thodey this week told investors that its new strategy is aimed at maintaining and growing market share and will involve a simplification of Telstra’s business, cost-cutting and an improvement in customer service.
The telco is on a $1 billion drive to reverse sliding revenues, with its market share and fixed telephone line business in decline.
