Retrenchments at Telecom

TELECOM Namibia is to lay off a number of employees as its restructuring exercise gathers momentum.Telecom spokesman Ferdinand Tjombe says the parastatal has offered voluntary retrenchment packages and about 150 workers are expected to opt for retrenchment.

The streamlining exercise started in May this year and is expected to be concluded next month. Tjombe said the emergence of new technologies in the telecommunication industry was compelling the institution to downsize.He said Telecom needed people with skills that matched the job requirements, and a study had found that the parastatal’s employees were lagging behind in the skills race.”The study found, among other aspects, that employee skills profiles are increasingly not matching the business skills requirements in the rapidly changing telecommunications industry,” Tjombe explained.Some Telecom departments were overstaffed while critical areas such as information technology and marketing were understaffed, he said.Furthermore, the company’s labour costs were found to be 20 per cent higher than the norm.Telecom said the exercise was not only aimed at reducing employee numbers, but also providing scope for a realignment of skills to keep up with the rapidly changing technology.Tjombe said the emergence of new technologies in the telecommunication industry was compelling the institution to downsize.He said Telecom needed people with skills that matched the job requirements, and a study had found that the parastatal’s employees were lagging behind in the skills race.”The study found, among other aspects, that employee skills profiles are increasingly not matching the business skills requirements in the rapidly changing telecommunications industry,” Tjombe explained.Some Telecom departments were overstaffed while critical areas such as information technology and marketing were understaffed, he said.Furthermore, the company’s labour costs were found to be 20 per cent higher than the norm.Telecom said the exercise was not only aimed at reducing employee numbers, but also providing scope for a realignment of skills to keep up with the rapidly changing technology.