Another 554 jobs affected as Telkom continues restructuring drive

26th February 2016 By: Natasha Odendaal - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Another 554 jobs affected as Telkom continues restructuring drive

Telecommunications giant Telkom is continuing its multiyear turnaround plans as it issues a notice of retrenchment and transfers for another 554 positions.

Trade union Solidarity on Friday said it received a Section 189 notice from Telkom that some 300 jobs at the JSE-listed group’s corporate office would be impacted, while 254 employees would be transferred to another company through a Section 197 business transfer process.

Telkom had now entered the third year of its extensive cost-cutting programme, which included downscaling its workforce through retrenchments, voluntary severance and retirement packages, as well as transferring and outsourcing employees to business process outsourcing companies, to get the company back on track.

“We have made important progress on our turnaround in the past two years but we still have a lot to do. We have to change and improve the way we work and how we deliver products and services to our customers. Our new operating model is driving this and while these changes are never easy, the streamlining of our corporate centre is an important step in delivering a sustainable and growing Telkom,” said CEO Sipho Maseko in a statement on Friday.

The first Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration-facilitated consultation on the current Section 189 process would kick off on March 8.