Eircom to hold talks with unions over planned job cuts

Paul Donovan, the CEO of Irish former monopoly fixed line operator Eircom, has confirmed his firm will seek agreement with unions on the implementation of a major modernisation programme that will most likely result in sizeable job cuts. The telco is understood to be targeting up to 2,000 redundancies as part of the initiative, on top of the 1,200 cuts it is already attempting to make as part of a voluntary redundancy package. Donovan told RTE’s Morning Ireland that his firm has highlighted three areas seen as key to cutting its cost base: a cut in the workforce, a reduction in the cost of individual transactions and improvements in overall operating efficiency. ‘I’ve been very clear that there are going to be fewer people working in our business in the future,’ he said. ‘Today, the majority of our services are delivered over copper. In the future, they are going to be delivered over fibre and over wireless technologies. It’s a clear fact that those need fewer people to operate them to give the kind of services the customers need,’ he added.