Irish telecom firm Eircom, unions talk job cuts Irish telecom company Eircom, unions talk about cutting over 1,000 jobs Mairead Flynn, Associated Press Writer Saturday April 18, 2009, 8:36 am EDT Buzz up! Print DUBLIN (AP) -- Irish telecommmunications provider Eircom Group PLC said Saturday it is negotiating with unions on plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs in the next 18 months.
The formerly state-owned company, which is now the target of a hostile takeover bid, is seeking the cuts as part of a strategy to reduce annual costs by a reported euro130 million ($170 million).
"There have been discussions on our whole restructuring plan across a range of issues to reduce our operating costs," Eircom spokesman Paul Bradley told The Associated Press, adding it was not clear yet if the cuts would be voluntary or not. "There is a whole range of things the company is doing to help reduce its cost base."
Staff pay cuts and a voluntary layoffs were already announced earlier this year at the company, which employs more than 7,500 workers.
Eircom was sold three years ago to Australian company Babcock Brown Capital. A group of former Eircom executives, who have formed the TaemasBridge vehicle, have offered euro95 million ($124 million) for the company.
Eircom told employees Thursday it rejected the proposal as "damaging to Eircom's interests and future."
Eircom is struggling with euro3.8 billion in debt. In the three months ending Dec. 31, Eircom reported that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was down 5 percent compared to a year earlier at euro164 million.
Steve Fitzpatrick, general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, told the Irish Times that the unions had been talking with Eircom for several weeks about the cost-cutting measures.
"What we are attempting to do with the company at the moment is work through a financial restructuring plan to assist it through its current difficulties," he said. "A lot of things have been agreed but there are still some outstanding issues."
The government privatized Eircom, previously known as Telecom Eireann, in 1999. Eircom owns the major fixed-line network in Ireland and is the biggest Internet service provider in the country. Its mobile phone arm, Meteor, is the third-largest in Ireland.
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