Optus is making up to 480 jobs redundant across Australia in a move to streamline its business. “Sustainable growth” is the company’s buzzword for the cuts, but they come at a time when Vodafone and Telstra are pressuring their competitor and attracting customers away with competitive mobile plans.
According to the Australian Business Review, the cuts are being made to protect Optus’ profits after the company spent millions to buy expensive sporting rights, including the English Premier League.
In a statement, the company said that the changes were necessary. “These changes require Optus to reshape its workforce with the skills required in an increasingly digital world and to invest in the capabilities required to bring ideas to market more quickly.
“As a result, Optus is proposing to make a number of roles redundant. Optus will consult directly with affected employees to explore ways to mitigate the impact of these changes, including redeployment opportunities.”
It is understood that 220 staff will be let go from the telco’s Adelaide call centre, with the remainder to be cut from other areas in the consumer, enterprise, wholesale and satellite divisions. An Optus spokesperson told iTnews the company would try to redeploy staff to areas in which it was growing, including its media division and managing its ongoing partnerships with Stan and Netflix. [Optus]