Australia telco giant Telstra to cut nearly 500 jobs

SYDNEY – Australia’s biggest telecommunications company Telstra said on Thursday it planned to cut nearly 500 jobs due to changes from digitisation and automation, as well as its exit from some legacy products and services.

The proposed reduction amounts to just over 1 per cent of the company’s total workforce but comes at a time when businesses around the world are starting to hunt for savings amid persistent inflation and rapidly increasing interest rates.

The cuts were part of an effort “to address impacts from exiting legacy products and services as well as gaining efficiencies from increased digitisation, automation and new technology”, a Telstra spokesman said in an e-mail.

The cuts would not affect customer-facing units, the spokesman added.

“If the change proceeds, it will see some of our people leave the organisation and the creation of new roles, with a net reduction of around 472 jobs,” the spokesman said.

Australian employment remained near a 50-year low in June, government data released on Thursday showed, but some companies are starting to trim their workforces as energy, fuel and wage bills mount.

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Lendlease plans to cut roughly 740 jobs,

or about 10 per cent of its workforce, Reuters reported this week, citing an internal memo. REUTERS