Swisscom cuts jobs, call centres amid lower earnings

Swisscom is planning multiple restructuring moves through 2020 Keystone

Switzerland’s largest telecom provider, Swisscom, has announced restructuring measures including the loss of six call centres and some 700 jobs amid lower earnings.

The announcement came as the 2015 annual report showed that Swisscom had brought in one-fifth fewer profits than a year ago, with earnings of CHF1.36 billion ($1.35 billion).  Part of the reduction in profits was due to a CHF186 million fine from the federal competition commission COMCO, which cited Swisscom for having rented its DSL lines to competing telecom companies for too high of a price until 2007. 

Although Swisscom plans to appeal the ruling from last October through the federal court, the company made provisions for paying the fine in 2015. 

The job cuts are part of the company’s effort to cut costs by CHF300 million by 2020. In addition to reducing personnel, Swisscom is also planning organisational adjustments, process optimisation and technology upgrades. The company also said it plans to create 500 jobs in other sectors. 

The provider’s existing 14 call centres will be reduced to eight and many employees will have to change their place of work, according to the company’s announcement on Thursday.

As of the end of 2015, Swisscom employed 21,637 people.