Job cuts at Cell C
Cell C says it has entered into a consultation process to retrench up to 960 employees.
Affected employees include junior management and semi-skilled staff, the company said.
“Cell C can confirm that it is has reached a difficult decision and initiated discussions with junior management and semi-skilled staff to implement a restructuring of its operations so as to align the organisation with its new operating model,” the company said in a statement.
“Earlier this year, senior management positions were aligned to this revised operating model and new organisational structure.”
Cell C said this process was completed in May and resulted in 30 senior management staff being retrenched.
“This current consultation process in terms of Section 189A (2) of the Labour Relations Act advises staff of the possibility of redundancy of certain positions and possible retrenchments.”
The company said that no final decision had been made and the consultation process with affected employees is meant to obtain input for consideration before a final decision is made.
“Along with these cost-cutting initiatives, together with the revised network strategy the company is adopting and the changing competitive environment, it has became necessary to review Cell C’s operating model and organisational structure,” Cell C said.
“It is the company’s view that over time the operating model has resulted in a number of inefficiencies. This is contributing to the operating and financial challenges the company currently faces.”
It added that it is also looking at a number of “outplacement opportunities” in the learning and development space, and will include a reskilling initiative for employees.
New operating model
Cell C CEO Douglas Craigie Stevenson previously said that as part of its reorganisation, Cell C would do its best to up-skill and cross-skill staff as it improves the efficiency of the business.
“You can’t forget where Cell C was. As a business, it was hopelessly inefficient,” he said.
“At one stage we had probably around 2,900 staff. You compare that to Vodacom and MTN, and it does not make any sense.”
He previously foreshadowed these major job cuts and said that the company would do what it could to cross-skill and up-skill its existing staff – especially the technical divisions.
This article originally appeared on MyBroadband. You can read it here.
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