Optus cuts 480 jobs across Australia

Optus will be slashing as many as 480 jobs in Australia to protect its profits. In a bid to cut cost by more than $200 million, the country’s second biggest telco is making changes to its Consumer and Enterprise division, which means hundreds of employees will be made redundant.

On Monday, Optus announced the changes that it claimed will help the company’s transformation strategy and reshape its operations or sustainable growth. The strategy was put in place 12 months ago to “strengthen Optus’ core communications business.” While the plan sounds promising for customers, it actually is ominous to its employees as it means the slashing of about hundreds of jobs across Australia.

“These changes require Optus to reshape its workforce with the skills required in an increasingly digital world and to invest in the capabilities required to bring ideas to market more quickly,” the company said in a statement. The redundancies will be posted in the company’s first quarter results.

“As a result, Optus is proposing to make a number of roles redundant. Optus will consult directly with affected employees to explore ways to mitigate the impact of these changes, including redeployment opportunities.”

A spokeswoman told iTnews that the company plans to cut 480 jobs. The management hopes to redeploy some staff into roles within the video and content functions. About 220 staff are expected to be let go from its Adelaide call centre, and the remaining will come from other areas.

The news follows the telco’s decision to buy expensive sporting rights, including English Premier League football and cricket broadcasting, and the video on demand services, Stan and Netflix.

The Australian first reported the planned redundancy cuts last month after it obtained confidential documents within the company. The files showed ambitious cost-cutting program that was feared to cull as many as 1,011 jobs.