(Reuters) – Australian telecommunications company Telstra (OTC:) said on Tuesday it would cut up to 2,800 jobs from its direct workforce by the end of this year, as part of its proposed measures to streamline operations and cut costs.
Telstra said consultations on 377 of these roles would begin immediately, particularly from areas that support products and services to be exited within its business.
The company expects to record one-time restructuring costs of A$200 million (US$133.36 million) to A$250 million in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Telstra reiterated its 2024 earnings forecast and said it expects 2025 underlying EBITDA to be between A$8.4 billion and A$8.7 billion.
Telstra first announced a review of its products and services within its corporate business in February.
It said on Tuesday it had identified a number of actions under review, which include simplifying its product portfolio and reducing its network applications and services products on the market by nearly two-thirds.
Telstra said it will update customer terms for its postpaid mobile phone plans to remove the CPI-linked annual review of prices.
“This approach reflects that there are a range of factors that go into any pricing decision, and will provide greater flexibility to adjust prices at different times and across different plans based on value propositions and customer needs,” said Vicki Brady, CEO of the company.
Analysts at UBS said the removal of the CPI indexing requirement in mobile postpaid plans was a “major surprise,” adding that the 2023 financial outlook indicates the company expects its mobile business to continue to be a growth driver.
The company's shares fell as much as 2.7% and recorded their largest intraday decline in more than three months.
($1 = 1.4997 Australian dollars)
