Telstra axes 500 staff in first round of major job cuts under chief executive Vicki Brady at telecommunication giant
Telstra cuts 500 employees in first round of job cuts under CEO Vicki Brady at telecommunications giant
- Telstra cuts 500 staff in first round of job cuts
- Comes as the company moves to cut $500 million in fixed costs
- Telco’s latest tech company is going to cut things as profit margins plummet
Telstra has cut nearly 500 jobs in its first major round of layoffs.
The telco has laid off 472 employees, mostly from its enterprise unit, as CEO Vicki Brady aims to cut $500 million in fixed costs under the company’s T25 strategic plan.
The affected employees were informed of the decision on Wednesday.
It is clear that they will receive redundancy packages and support services.
“I can confirm that we have proposed some changes to further reshape our business so that we remain competitive, efficient and effective in the way we operate,” said a Telstra spokesperson. The Australian.
“We need to make it clear that there will be no discounts on our Telstra consumer teams serving our customers in store, on the phone or at home.
“More generally, we have proposed changes to address the impact of existing legacy products and services and to gain efficiencies through increased digitization, automation and new technology. These are critical for us to remain competitive and deliver on our customers’ ambitions.
Nearly 500 employees have lost their jobs in Telstra’s first round of job cuts as the company takes steps to cut $500 million in fixed costs (Telstra store in Sydney)
The affected employees were informed of the decision on Wednesday. It is clear that the employees will receive severance packages and support services
“If the change continues, some of our people will leave the organization and new roles will emerge, with a net reduction of approximately 472 jobs.
These kinds of decisions are always difficult. We know and feel the personal impact on our people and their families.’
T25’s strategic plan was first initiated by former CEO Andy Penn, but continued under Ms. Brady’s leadership.
It includes $500 million in cost savings and follows the T22 strategy that aimed to save $2.5 billion by cutting 8,000 jobs over four years.
During an earnings call with investors and analysts in February, Ms. Brady stated her intent to find $500 million in cost savings.
“We have maintained our ambition at the $500 million net cost target under T25,” said Ms. Brady.
“We are well aware that… When we first set that target, inflation was at a very different level. So it’s a much more daring target now.
“But I’ll be very honest, in this environment we didn’t think taking the foot off was the right move. So we are absolutely focused on that ambition.”
The telco has laid off 472 employees, mostly from its enterprise unit, as CEO Vicki Brady looks to cut $500 million in fixed costs under the company’s strategic T25 plan
Telstra is the latest company to join the list of companies affected by the global ‘tech wreck’.
“Tech wreck” refers to the many tech companies announcing cost-cutting measures as the industry’s pandemic boom has turned into a post-pandemic bust, while rising interest rates weigh on stock prices and inflation squeezes profit margins.
In February, NBN Co cut about 500 positions, representing 10 percent of its workforce.
While companies such as Atlassian, Meta, Amazon, Twitter and Google have also laid off thousands of Australian tech workers in the past year.
The ‘tech wreck’ has also affected Australian start-ups, forcing companies to lay off staff urgently to survive the difficult market conditions.
Fintech company Fintech Finder cut 15 percent of its workforce this year.
While software companies Thoughtworks and Kinde together laid off more than a hundred employees.