Optus layoffs continue: Nearly 200 employees, including O-Team, impacted
Optus, Australia's second-largest telecommunications company, is set to lay off nearly 200 employees this week in a fresh wave of redundancies, following the termination of hundreds of positions just months earlier. According to the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the cuts will impact the company's O-Team, which was created three years ago to assist customers with installing smart devices.
Redundancy notices began reaching affected staff on Tuesday, and all impacted employees will be informed by 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The O-Team, responsible for installing smart technology such as security cameras, doorbells, Smart TVs, and electric vehicle chargers, is being dismantled following a recent review.
Optus has already halted its wired installation services for smart devices and notified customers via its website. Customers who recently purchased O-Team devices requiring installation can still schedule setups until January 30.
The CWU has criticized Optus for the timing and scale of the layoffs, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis. National Assistant Secretary James Perkins expressed concerns over the move, stating, "It is deeply concerning that Optus is adding another 198 redundancies to the growing list of workers who are left without a job. We have seen the impacts of cuts like these with the recent Optus outage, and we will continue to see service decline if they keep cutting back where they should be investing—in the Australian workforce and local network."
The job losses follow a tumultuous year for Optus, which slashed 600 positions in 2023. This included 150 roles eliminated at its Adelaide headquarters last November.
An Optus spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the company regularly evaluates its organizational structure to align with customer needs. "We have recently undertaken a review and are taking steps to simplify our business while still investing in those areas we know matter to our customers. As part of this review, we are realigning some teams across our business," the spokesperson said.
The latest redundancies come on the heels of a major network outage in November 2023 that disrupted internet and phone services for approximately 10 million customers nationwide. Businesses and essential services were severely impacted during the 12-hour blackout, which Optus attributed to a "routine software upgrade."
The incident sparked widespread criticism and led to the resignation of Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin just one week later. Ms. Bayer Rosmarin faced backlash for being unavailable for seven hours during the crisis, further intensifying public scrutiny.