The
The remaining 2,000 cuts are at
"It was a very difficult decision," said Telus chief financial officer
"The industry keeps changing and from a competitive perspective, we always want to prepare ourselves for the future. We see more digitization, we see prices are coming down in our industry, which customers are looking for. And so preparing to ensure we continue to be very competitive in the market, we need to align our cost structure to what that looks like."
Earlier this year, federal Industry Minister
The directive rescinded a 2006 policy direction for the agency to rely on market forces in making decisions.
But French said the federal government should let the market compete among the four national carriers.
"We obviously would prefer to just have straight competition and regulation. I believe the competitive environment in
French said the cuts also reflect a shift toward increased digitization in the sector, as customers "want more self-serve" options, while the finalization of recent mergers and acquisitions by the company also played a role.
Telus had 108,500 workers at the end of last year, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. French said cuts would affect employees across "all areas of our business" and be complete by the end of the year, with most done by the start of the fourth quarter.
The restructuring will cost the company
The cuts will help prepare the company for future challenges, said chief executive
"When you look at the efficiencies that we're driving, they are pre-emptive in terms of how we see certain regulatory challenges evolving in the months and the years ahead and we want to get ahead of it," Entwistle told analysts.
"Our ability to take costs out of the business today will prepare us to better absorb any regulatory impediments … and we're an organization that just wants to control our own destiny along the way."
Other telecommunications businesses have also sought to streamline their operations this year as they grapple with regulatory action amid soaring interest rates and stubbornly high inflation.
Fellow telecommunications giant
Meanwhile,
Telus' plans to reduce its workforce were announced at the same time as the company revealed its second-quarter net income fell almost 61 per cent from the same period last year to
Last month, Telus revised doward its annual guidance for 2023, citing demand pressures affecting
But Telus continues to have a high level of confidence in the growth prospects of
He said Telus has no plans to buy back
"As it deals with the macroeconomic challenges in front of it, with the right moves, the medium and longer term prospects for the organization are exceedingly strong," Entwistle said.
The cuts announced on Friday help balance the labour supply at
He did not rule out further job reductions at Telus beyond those announced Friday.
"When we make a decision like this, it is not easy and we'd prefer not to continue to do more in the future,"said French.
"That being said, depending on market conditions … that would be more determined on what that looks like, including regulation."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
Companies in this story: (TSX:T, TSX:RCI.B, TSX:BCE)
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