Optus looking to cut more jobs

Optus is considering outsourcing some of its office work as part of wider efforts to cut costs amid stiff competition.

Optus says it’s yet to finalise any outsourcing arrangements.

Optus is looking to cut more jobs next year as the teleco group considers outsourcing some of its office work as part of wider efforts to cut costs amid stiff competition.

“We are currently reviewing our back office HR and finance operations to identify potential activities that could be outsourced over the next 12 months,” an Optus spokeswoman said in a statement.

She said the Singapore Telecommunications-owned company, Australia’s second-biggest telco, was also looking at how it could enhance its finance and HR functions through better analytics, systems and technology.

Optus was talking to a number of parties, including management consulting services groups, Accenture and Infosys, about the outsourcing but no arrangements had been finalised with any vendors, she said.

The telco said it expects to select a vendor in the next few months, but there would be no redundancies this year.

“Specific roles which may be affected have not yet been identified but we will work with employees who may be affected by these changes,” she added.

Optus — which is moving into the content space in a bid to keep existing customers happy and lure new ones — announced in April that it would cut 480 of its 9,128 strong workforce.

Those cuts fall across the group’s consumer and enterprise divisions.

Optus spent $189 million last November on the Australian broadcast and digital rights to show English Premier League matches as part of the group’s strategy to differentiate its product offering from rivals Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison.

AAP