Telkom South Africa to slash 4,400 jobs

South African fixed-line operator Telkom plans to slash 4,400 jobs, or more than 24 percent of its staff, to contain costs, its spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Telkom, in which the government owns a stake of about 40 percent, is in the middle of a turnaround plan that aims to bring down costs and better compete with wireless operators MTN Group and Vodacom.

“We have taken a number of steps to contain costs,” Jacqui O’Sullivan told Talk Radio 702. “It is tackling management costs, in making sure we reduce management levels.”

Telkom employs about 18,000 people.

The company, which also has its own smaller wireless business, has the slenderest operating margin in the industry, an indicator of a company’s ability to control its costs.

Labor group Solidarity said it would question every single job cut that affects its members. “These job cuts must be motivated at company level as well as at departmental and service level in Telkom,” the union said.

Source: Reuters