Netia slashing jobs by almost a quarter

Reuters reports that Netia, Poland’s largest alternative fixed line operator, is planning to cut its workforce by nearly a quarter as part of a restructuring programme aimed at reducing costs by PLN50 million (USD15 million) next year, its CEO Adam Sawicki disclosed yesterday. The group plans to lay off up to 400 of its 1,700 staff in Q1 2015, having already cut 200 jobs earlier this year, with Sawicki adding that the restructuring costs will be booked in Q4 2014 including redundancy charges of around PLN25 million. Netia’s broadband and multi-play bundled services have failed to offset declining revenues from fixed line telephony, despite the group’s strategic takeover strategy. Market sources told Reuters that Netia is in the running for the Polish state railway’s telecoms division TK Telekom, while earlier this year it was reported that Netia was considering a re-merger with the country’s fourth largest cellular operator by subscribers, P4 (Play), which the fixed telco previously divested in 2008. Netia currently offers cellular services via mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreements with both P4 and Polkomtel (Plus). Netia itself was the target of a takeover bid from cableco Vectra this year, but the offer fell through in August.