IT services provider, Alphawest, has shed 33 staff following a review of the business.
The Optus subsidiary cut employees from across the board including senior and middle management, sales, operations and support. While most of the retrenchments were in NSW, an Optus spokesperson on behalf of Alphawest, said it was a national decision and stressed cuts were in line with staff numbers in each state.
“No customer delivery staff have been affected,” the spokesperson added. Alphawest staff were informed of the redundancies yesterday.
The spokesperson denied the cuts were a direct result of the economic downturn and said the organisation restructure resulted from a strategic review begun in July.
“The aim of this restructure is to create a sustainable and efficient organisation, which is more closely aligned to the needs of our customers,” the spokesperson said. “Redundancies have occurred where a duplication of roles has been identified, or a process has been streamlined.
“In the current competitive environment, finding the right balance between managing costs and providing the best possible service to our customers is critical. The outcomes of this review will leave us well placed to continue to deliver market leading products and services to our customers in conjunction with Optus Business.”
There are no plans to make further cuts as a result of the review, the spokesperson said.
The latest retrenchments bring Alphawest’s total headcount to 730. Optus acquired Alphawest in 2005.
Earlier this year, the company appointed former Optus business executive Rob Parcell, as Alphawest’s CEO following the departure of longserving chief, Garry Henley. At the time, Parcell emphasised the need to leverage synergies across the combined organisations to service corporate and government customers.