when will property in syd / melb be a "bargain, page-8

With no end insight of massive job cuts, I would not go near the property market to invest my hard earned cash.


Optus to slash 750 jobs in revamp
May 2, 2012 - 9:51AM

Optus

Optus says 'yes' to more job cuts

Optus, Australia's second-biggest telco, said today it will cut 750 jobs over coming months in a major restructure of its business designed to boost profitability.

The company said the job retrenchments will come “from senior and middle management as well as operations, back office and support functions.”

Optus, a subsidiary of Singapore Telecom, expects a $37 million one-off charge from the changes.
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The cuts from Optus come after bigger rival Telstra said in December it would lop 280 jobs in Australia and send them offshore in order to boost productivity over the next three years. Telstra subsidiary Sensis also chopped 110 jobs from its Yellow Pages sales team in January.

Optus, an Australian subsidiary of Singapore Telecom had 10,394 staff in 2011. It generated $9.37 billion in revenues in 2010-11.

The revamp would also cut “a number of operational, back office and administrative functions to drive greater efficiencies in response to the increasingly competitive trading environment," the company said.

NSW jobs hit

Two-thirds of the redundant Optus roles will be in Sydney "with the remainder in the ACT, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria," said a spokeswoman for the company.

Kevin Russell, chief executive officer for Optus's Australian consumer division, said the cuts were necessary to improve the company's competitiveness.

“The competitive environment requires Optus to have a sustainable cost structure to remain competitive and continue to deliver value to our customers," he said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/optus-to-slash-750-jobs-in-revamp-20120502-1xxzf.html#ixzz1tfKZHQyk