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The Australian operator is aiming to cut costs by roughly A$500 million by 2025 as part of its T25 strategic plan
This week, Telstra has informed almost 500 members of staff that their jobs are being cut as part of ongoing cost-saving measures seeking to reduce costs by half a billion Australian dollars.
According to a report in The Australian, the majority of the roles being cut will be from the company’s enterprise business, with consumer-facing roles unlikely to be affected.
The jobs being cut will be subsumed into existing roles, with Telstra suggesting that increasing digitalisation and automation of operations should help to streamline the business.
The specific number of staff being made redundant this week is unclear, but Telstra said that the company would see a net reduction in staff of 472, after the creation of a number of new roles.
The process could involve both forced and voluntary redundancies.
“I can confirm we have proposed some changes to continue to reshape our business so that we remain competitive, efficient as well as effective in the way we work,” said Telstra in a statement. “These are critical for us to remain competitive and achieve our customer ambitions.”
This is the first major round of job cuts Telstra has undertaken since Vicki Brady took over the role of CEO in summer last year, replacing the outgoing Andrew Penn, who was retiring after seven years in the position.
Back in 2021, Penn had created a new strategic growth plan for Telstra dubbed T25 aiming to streamline the company’s operations and reduce costs by A$500 million by 2025. This followed the company’s previous strategic plan, T22, which saw roughly 8,000 jobs cut over a four-year period, alongside cost-savings of around A$2.5 billion.
Since taking over as CEO, Brady has reflected that the T25 plans to cut costs were now “much bolder” than when they were first devised due to inflation and the global economic climate. Nonetheless, she reaffirmed earlier this year that she is “absolutely confident” that the T25 strategy remains necessary and will be effective.
Telstra currently employs roughly 30,000 people across Australia.
It should be noted that Telstra is not alone in the Australian telecoms sector when it comes to making significant job cuts. Earlier this year, NBN, the state-run broadband provider, said that it would cut 500 jobs by the end of the current financial year, motivated by rising costs and growing competition.
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