Telstra to cut up to 2800 jobs

Telstra has revealed plans to sack up to 2,800 workers as part of its latest cost-cutting measures. In a notice to the ASX shared on Tuesday morning, the telco giant said consultation for 377 of the redundancies would begin immediately.

The telco said the majority of the job cuts would happen by the end of this year.

Telstra had more than 31,000 employees at the time of its last annual report in August 2023, meaning that the job losses represent roughly 9 per cent of its workforce.

"I appreciate the uncertainty proposed changes like this can create for our people and we will support them through this change with care and transparency," said Telstra's chief executive Vicki Brady.

Losses will mainly effect B2B Telstra Enterprise teams, and will form the bulk of $350m of savings Telstra hopes to achieve by the end of the 2025 financial year.

Communication Workers Union national assistant secretary James Perkins, who represents Telstra workers, said the union had no knowledge of the cuts, prior to the ASX announcement.

He questioned how the cuts, which equated to about nine per cent of its workforce, would allow Telstra to “maintain the service that people expect”.

“Workers are already facing the brunt of cost of living pressures and now they’re having to contend with attacks on their jobs,” he said.

Telstra has been lashed as a “national disgrace” for its sudden decision to scrap up to 2800 jobs, with the majority of cuts set to happen by the end of this year.