Telstra clarifies 550 job cuts ‘not a result of our adoption of AI’

Australia’s leading telecommunications company, Telstra, has confirmed the extent of its job cuts, with a proposed 550 staff across the organisation set to face redundancy.

Back on 27 May, Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady presented the “Connected Future 30 strategy” at the annual shareholders meeting, with the announcement featuring heavy reference to AI being the essential driver towards Telstra being the “number one choice for connectivity in Australia”.

“There’s no version of the future that doesn’t rely on technology,” said Brady at the time.

“As a connectivity and digital infrastructure business with a long history of innovation, this is a massive opportunity for us.”

This AI championing was, however, clouded by the mention of potential workforce shrinkage as a means to achieve this increased implementation.

“Our workforce will look different in 2030 as we develop new capabilities, find new ways to leverage technology – including AI – and we have to stay focused on becoming more efficient,” said Brady.

“We will need to continue to evolve, and our commitment is to always be transparent with our employees and act with care once we are clear on specific changes.

“We don’t know precisely what our workforce will look like in 2030, but it will be smaller than it is today.”

Today (9 July) – just over a month after this statement – Telstra has confirmed that it has proposed to reduce 550 roles in its workforce, with jobs right across the company set to be affected.

In a statement given to HR Leader, a Telstra spokesperson confirmed the number of job cuts: “Today, we shared with our employees that we are proposing a net reduction of around 550 roles from across the organisation.

“These changes are largely driven by the ongoing reset of our Telstra Enterprise business, as well as improvements to the structure and processes of other teams across our organisation, to reduce complexity, create efficiencies, and respond to changing customer needs.”

The spokesperson, however, rejected the notion that the organisation’s job cuts arrived as a result of its announcement to increase AI adoption, as has been reported elsewhere.

“We are committed to consulting with our people first about the proposed changes.

“If the changes go ahead, we’ll work with the people in the roles that are no longer required to seek to help them find another role at Telstra. If that’s not possible and they end up leaving Telstra, they’ll have access to our redundancy package and a range of support services.

“The changes proposed to our team are not a result of our adoption of AI,” the spokesperson said.

Speaking on potentially AI-driven job cuts manifesting across Australia, Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) assistant national secretary Melissa Payne said: “While AI has many potential benefits, workers should have the right to a strong say in how new technology will affect their jobs and industries. We can’t sit back and let multinationals and big businesses like Telstra make all the decisions on AI.”

Just recently, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth was quizzed on the impending threat that artificial intelligence could pose towards Aussie workers.

“Artificial intelligence provides a huge opportunity for our economy, whether that’s in productivity or indeed in economic growth,” Minister Rishworth said.

“What we know is we will need to ensure that our workers are properly trained to harness the benefits that AI can bring to a workplace.

“I think that we will continue to see high-quality, secure jobs that are the focus of our government, at the same time, being able to embrace technology so that we can continue to see productivity gains in our economy and, importantly, economic growth.”