THE axing of 80 jobs at Jersey Telecom should come as no surprise, given the company’s recent history.
It was not that long ago that the States-owned firm announced that it was putting itself up for sale. OK, maybe a couple of years have gone by since then, but as far as I’m aware the potential sale was never taken off the table by the then Treasury Minister, Terry Le Sueur.
At the time, there was speculation that Cable & Wireless – who like to be known locally as Sure – were one of those definitely in the running, given that they already had the lion’s share of the Guernsey telecom market.
Since then Indian company Bharti, aka Airtel-Vodaphone, have grown their share of the mobile phone market in Jersey and latterly in Guernsey. And just last week we learned that Jersey Post, no less, was looking to get a foot in the mobile phone door as well.
So whoever takes on the JT brand and its subsidiary companies will want something of a bargain, in these times of lower consumer spending, and will definitely not want a surfeit of staff hanging around demanding higher salaries and better pension rights.
If there is a buyer in the wings – and I strongly suspect that this is the case – they will want to take over a company which is making more for its bucks than at present. If, indeed, there is a £7 million overspend, then the ‘business transformation programme’ announced by JT chief executive Bob Lawrence last week is well overdue.
It will not have escaped the notice of those interested in such things, meanwhile, that the recent departure of the former chairman and the forthcoming departure of Mr Lawrence are likely to be closely related to any future plans the board of directors may be hatching.
The interesting question for consumers is whether an operator already present in the Channel Island market will want to take over the former States-run utility, or whether the new owners will be bringing even more competition and, in turn, ever lower prices.
However, Mr Lawrence is currently blaming the existing competition for the need to make savings, which begs the question whether there will be sufficient potential for a new player.
In the meantime, those who are about to lose their jobs – having already suffered several years of uncertainty since the last announcement of a potential sale of the company – will now have to look for work elsewhere. Many will have served the firm well for a number of years and will have been no doubt dedicated and hard-working into the bargain.
Even in this hi-tech age, when email has become the impersonal purveyor of news good and bad, it cannot be politically correct – or indeed humane – for any chief executive to dodge thorny issues by announcing such news electronically, rather than face to face.
A quick but inhumane way to bear bad tidings
THE axing of 80 jobs at Jersey Telecom should come as no surprise, given the company’s recent history.
It was not that long ago that the States-owned firm announced that it was putting itself up for sale. OK, maybe a couple of years have gone by since then, but as far as I’m aware the potential sale was never taken off the table by the then Treasury Minister, Terry Le Sueur.
At the time, there was speculation that Cable & Wireless – who like to be known locally as Sure – were one of those definitely in the running, given that they already had the lion’s share of the Guernsey telecom market.
Since then Indian company Bharti, aka Airtel-Vodaphone, have grown their share of the mobile phone market in Jersey and latterly in Guernsey. And just last week we learned that Jersey Post, no less, was looking to get a foot in the mobile phone door as well.
So whoever takes on the JT brand and its subsidiary companies will want something of a bargain, in these times of lower consumer spending, and will definitely not want a surfeit of staff hanging around demanding higher salaries and better pension rights.
If there is a buyer in the wings – and I strongly suspect that this is the case – they will want to take over a company which is making more for its bucks than at present. If, indeed, there is a £7 million overspend, then the ‘business transformation programme’ announced by JT chief executive Bob Lawrence last week is well overdue.
It will not have escaped the notice of those interested in such things, meanwhile, that the recent departure of the former chairman and the forthcoming departure of Mr Lawrence are likely to be closely related to any future plans the board of directors may be hatching.
The interesting question for consumers is whether an operator already present in the Channel Island market will want to take over the former States-run utility, or whether the new owners will be bringing even more competition and, in turn, ever lower prices.
However, Mr Lawrence is currently blaming the existing competition for the need to make savings, which begs the question whether there will be sufficient potential for a new player.
In the meantime, those who are about to lose their jobs – having already suffered several years of uncertainty since the last announcement of a potential sale of the company – will now have to look for work elsewhere. Many will have served the firm well for a number of years and will have been no doubt dedicated and hard-working into the bargain.
Even in this hi-tech age, when email has become the impersonal purveyor of news good and bad, it cannot be politically correct – or indeed humane – for any chief executive to dodge thorny issues by announcing such news electronically, rather than face to face.
Article posted on 21st November, 2009 - 3.00pm