Telenor achieves efficiency targets rough voluntary severance agreements and consulting reductions

Telenor achieves efficiency targets through voluntary severance agreements and consulting reductions Press Releases: 04 April 2014

Strong competitive pressure and declining revenues from traditional fixed telephony require Telenor Norway to focus on streamlining its operations and investments. The offer of voluntary redundancy packages, early retirement and a reduction in the use of consultants, has so far had the desired effect.

During the period from March 5th to March 26th, Telenor Norway has offered the option of voluntary redundancy to all employees of Telenor Norway AS and Canal Digital Cable TV AS. This is part of ongoing efforts to reduce costs. Telenor has also reviewed all consultancy agreements with a view to significantly reducing the use of consultants.

Following the end of the application period for voluntary redundancy packages, the applications have been reviewed by the management. The result of their review shows that 182 individuals have been granted voluntary redundancy packages. The total number of applicants was 266. More than 100 people are also expected to leave for early retirement during the course of the year. In addition to voluntary redundancies, Telenor Norway will also reduce its use of consultants by the equivalent of 207 man-years before the end of the year.

We set an efficiency target equivalent to 450 man-years. We will achieve this goal through the actions we have taken. I am very satisfied that we have managed to avoid a controlled reduction of our workforce,' says Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.

Shift in expertise Telenor Norway's policy is that the company should, to the greatest extent possible, be based on its own resources and the hire of external staff should only take place when it is not possible to use our own employees. The hire of consultants should be limited to specialist expertise in connection with assignments and projects for a limited period, rather than for ongoing operational tasks.

The cumulative effect of the voluntary redundancies and the reduced use of consultants is significant. This means that going forward we must be clear in our priorities and opt out of certain assignments. However, following this process, we see that 34 positions must be replaced immediately, and we will therefore advertise these roles. This provides us with the opportunity to shift expertise and resources to areas and assignments where this is most needed,' says Svendsen.

Technology shift and new appointments Telenor is implementing a major technology shift with an annual level of investment of more than NOK 4 billion. Older technological solutions are being replaced with internet-based platforms for both data communication and voice services. Berit Svendsen also emphasises that a shift in expertise is crucial in order for the technology shift to succeed.

We are in the middle of a comprehensive technology shift, and this also means that we will appoint people to develop expertise that we do not have internally today. In the technology area we are looking for domain architects in IT and security experts. In addition, we will continue to appoint staff on an ongoing basis as part of our natural staff turnover,' says Svendsen.

Contact: Torild Uribarri, Chief Corporate Communication Officer,Telenor Norway,

Phone: 911 55 381, torild.uribarri@telenor.com

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