Telstra won't cut Bunbury jobs

Telstra will not be slashing jobs in Bunbury as part of its Australiawide strategy to simplify its business, according to area general manager Ray Philp.

The telco last week announced 950 jobs would be lost, with the company setting aside $220 million this year to cover the cost of redundancies.

Mr Philp said rather than cutting jobs in the South West, Telstra had instead "refocused" on the region, highlighted by the September launch of the Telstra Business Centre at the Homemaker Centre.

Employees such as Aaron Hunt, Jan Reale and Warren Headlam were recently employed at the new centre to provide small businesses with access to a range of new technologies and services specifically designed to cater to business customers.

"It was obvious that our small business customers needed dedicated business centres in their local area," Mr Philp said.

Telstra chief executive officer David Thodey said the centrepiece of the company’s restructuring was a local management model to build on the successful Telstra Country Wide structure.

Under the new model, 33 local area managers will be responsible for Telstra’s 5000 points of presence, including shops and dealers throughout Australia.

"Telstra’s local area managers will now be responsible for all the shops, dealers and service in their local community, giving them the tools they need to run their business for local customers," Mr Thodey said in a statement.

However, Opposition Regional Communications spokesman Luke Hartsuyker said the result of the company’s new operating model would be felt in regional areas.

He said despite the new Bunbury business centre opening, there was consumer concern that the new Telstra entity could lose its regional focus.

"Although Telstra claims the losses will predominantly be in capital cities, the restructure of Telstra Country Wide will clearly have impacts on Telstra’s regional workforce," Mr Hartsuyker said.

‘‘Telstra needs to inform the public where the job losses will be located and what services will be affected.

"Many regional areas are dependent upon the jobs provided by companies such as Telstra, and the company has an obligation to ensure its workers aren’t placed into hardship as a result of downsizing."