Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn is pointing the finger at the NBN for any possible job cuts that the telco might suffer.
With the roll-out of the NBN, Telstra is deciding to move towards becoming a tech business meaning jobs could be cut.
At the Telstra half year announcements Penn told investors Telstra knows any decision it makes it does has an impact on jobs but the efficiency and productivity needs to be increased to make it successful.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports Penn says the company was making investments in new technology and 5G because “regardless of the NBN, they’re the right thing to do for the future of our customers and our shareholders”, but it was “critically important because we need to find ways to mitigate and offset the negative economic impact of the roll-out of the NBN”.
The roll-out of the NBN will cost approximately $3bn a year until 2020 when it will be completed.
For its half year results, Telstra has posted a 5.8 per cent drop in half-year profit, slashing its dividend by 11 cents, following the $273m million write-down of its US streaming business ‘Ooyala’. For the six months to December 31st, Telstra notched profit of $1.7 billion.
