Job Cuts in Telco

Here the first of many annouced and un-annouced job cuts in the Telelcom sector. As the economy slows, Telco will feel the pinch. Hopefully not as much as other sector because Telecom services can help the bottom line by increasing efficiency and allowing employees to do more with less.


Massive job cuts at BT, but Q2 results solid
By Mary Lennighan, Total Telecom
13 November 2008
U.K. incumbent to shed 10,000 jobs; outlines plans for turning around troubled Global Services unit.
The news that BT plans to cut 10,000 jobs as part of an existing cost-reduction programme overshadowed a largely solid second-quarter results announcement from the U.K. incumbent on Thursday.

BT executives outlined their plans to turn around the ailing Global Services unit, a task that will centre on cutting costs and reducing bespoke contracts, and let slip that the unit signed a big U.K. contract yesterday. There could also be more outsourcing on the cards. But, as Livingston predicted in his presentation, Thursday's headlines will likely focus on the planned headcount reduction. The telco plans to shed a total of 10,000 positions this financial year, 4,000 of which have already gone. The remainder will largely affect indirect employees, that is agency staff, contractors, subcontractors and offshore workers.