Telstra to march 650 staff

Telstra has announced it will slash around 650 jobs today as part of a restructuring plan at its Sensis business unit.

The telco will shed sales and digital jobs from the division that publishes the Yellow and White Pages, as revenue from these activities continues to plummet. The move was first reported by Fairfax and News Limited.

For the six-month period to December 31, Sensis revenue dropped 12 percent to $479 million. Print revenue was the hardest hit, with a 28 percent drop in sales to $202 million. 

Staff are expected to be informed of the redundancies at a meeting this morning.

Sensis managing director John Allan said the redundancies are part of a move to shift Sensis from its traditional print market into digital. 

The Sensis division employs approximately 3500 staff. Of the 648 roles to be made redundant, 391 will come from back office, which will now be outsourced, the remainder from customer care.

The company said the establishment of a new digital customer management centre would create 50 new roles. 

“While these decisions are never easy, they are designed to position the company for future digital growth,” Allan said in a statement.

“Until now we have been operating with an outdated print-based model – this is no longer sustainable for us. 

“We need to simplify our operation and invest in areas that make us more efficient, and meet our customers’ growing demand for online and mobile services.”