Optus To SLASH 350 Jobs

Optus rolled out a “transformation strategy” 18 months ago in a bid to distribute long-term profits, which included a consumer rebrand and incipient customer packages. Optus also added it was placing more focus on customer accommodation.

The company mentioned “greater efficiencies” behind the slashing. The redundancies will move rapidly through the business with all 350 affected employees expected to leave over the next few weeks.

The company stated: “To perpetuate executing against our plan, Optus must continually review its operations to ascertain we remain sustainable and competitive in the years ahead.

“These changes will visually perceive Optus centralize and consolidate roles across a number of corporate functions, amend the fortification we offer new customers and simplify processes for resolving customers’ issues.”

Those changes have recently distributed profit magnification, with the company making a net profit of $722 million in the nine months to December 31, up from $480 million in the same period a year earlier.

Australia’s second largest telco has already reduced employee numbers; over the nine months to December 31, 2013, it had an average of 8,685 staff, down from 9,130 in the same period a year earlier.