Leading Australian telecom provider Telstra announced on Tuesday that, in order to stay up with “rapid advances in technology,” it will eliminate up to 2,800 jobs, or nine percent of its workforce.
According to Chief Executive Vicki Brady, the company will save around US$230 million as a result of the employment reduction, better enabling it to handle “ongoing inflationary and cost pressures”.
Global telecom companies are dealing with profound shifts in their industry as a result of the emergence of artificial intelligence and the obsolescence of more conventional products like landlines.
“Our industry and the world we are operating in is fast changing,” Brady told reporters.
“We have new and different competitors. We have rapid advances in technology. Our customer needs continue to evolve.”
Telstra, which has 30,000 employees, stated earlier this year that it intends to increase the amount of AI technologies it uses for customer support.
Telstra is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and is valued at US$27 billion (Aus$41 billion) on the market.
