The job eliminations are equal to about 1 per cent of Optus Pty's 10,700 workforce, the Sydney-based company, a unit of Singapore Telecom, said in an e-mail on Monday.

The reductions will take place across the Networks division, including management, operational and engineering workers, Optus said.

SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest phone operator, joins Qantas Airways Ltd and Telstra Corp in cutting jobs after the Australian economy expanded at the slowest pace in more than three years in the second quarter as the global credit crisis deepened.

Optus's employee costs climbed 12 per cent to A$295 million (S$305.8 million) and sales per worker fell 5 per cent to A$182,000 in the quarter to June 30. Profit was unchanged at A$122 million, according to Bloomberg.

SingTel does not plan to reduce the number of workers in Singapore or replace those who resigned, the company said in a separate e-mail today, reiterating comments made on Oct 6 by Mr Allen Lew, chief executive officer of its domestic business.

SingTel gained 4.8 per cent to S$2.62 as of 2.18 pm on the Singapore Exchange, narrowing the stock's loss for the year to 35 per cent. The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 3 per cent today.

The company's Australian operations are being hurt by the falling Australian dollar and competition with Telstra, the nation's biggest mobile-phone company.

The Australian dollar has slid 18 per cent against the Singapore currency this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A weaker Australian currency reduces the value of Optus's earnings when converted to Singapore dollars.

Other companies that have announced job cuts in Australia include Fairfax Media Ltd, Boeing Co, Ford Motor Co., Starbucks Corp and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.