Romtelecom will lay off up to 1,400 people this year

Romtelecom announced that it will lay off an estimated 1,000-1,400 people at the level of the entire company during the process of increasing the efficiency of its operations.

Costs have become the number one priority given the low purchase power of clients and their expectations to have quality services at low prices. “We are running on an extremely competitive market, with some of the lowest prices in Europe for communication services, and we have to be able to improve our internal performances, our ability to offer more with lesser resources,” said Yorgos Ioannidis (pictured), general manager of Romtelecom.

The company has started more than 20 projects that target the important business lines of the company. These include improving processes, from sales to the installation cycle, increasing efficiency in call-centers and stores or simplifying the portfolio of products. Other new related projects are currently in the evaluation stage. The projects that have been started now will unfold until 2013.

“Many of the projects we have in view imply also a cut-down in personnel, since our aim is to be able to achieve more with lesser resources. For example, at this point we have several thousand options regarding products in our IT systems. We intend to reduce them massively in 2011, first of all to help clients to choose easier but also to reduce costs that we have with maintaining all these products. This will lead to less need for personnel to be in charge of these products,” said Ioannidis.

Broadband internet and TV services will remain priorities for the company in 2011 as it moves closer to its statute as supplier of electronic entertainment services. Online services will also be a priority.

“We are already working on a TV platform that will be launched soon and we will continue to develop for our clients the online options that have had until now results that exceeded expectations,” said Ioannidis.

Ioannidis sees 2011 as “a year full of challenges for Romtelecom, but the company has already proven its ability to re-invent itself and I trust it will do it again,” he concluded.

Romtelecom posted revenues of EUR 181.5 million in the third quarter of 2010, which represented a 6.5 percent decline on the same period when it posted EUR 194.2 million.

See more on Romtelecom’s financial results and subscribers here.