Telkom mulling major staff cuts

South Africa’s dominant wireline operator Telkom SA has said it will begin talks next week with the Alliance of Telkom Unions and the Communications Workers’ Union to discuss plans it has to restructure its operations and lay off up to 1,380 workers. Telkom is claiming that the cuts are necessary to maintain profitability in South Africa’s increasingly competitive telecoms sector. The operator’s media relations manager Andrew Weldrick has said that the forthcoming award of a second national fixed line licence in South Africa may force it to cut its fixed line service staff by between 7% and 10% each year over the next three years.