Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks on Telstra’s announcement to cut its workforce by up to 2,800 staff
Telstra says it needs to cut costs to keep investing in infrastructure and innovation in an "evolving competitive landscape". The treasurer, Jim Chalmers says companies need to balance staffing needs with technology improvements.
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00:00Well, I think this is a very distressing day for a lot of people who have received this
00:06bad news today from Telstra.
00:09And we're thinking of all of the families who are impacted by these big job cuts at
00:15a major Australian employer.
00:17We need to make sure that the services don't suffer as a consequence of these changes.
00:24And we will be seeking advice from the ACCC about some of the claims that Telstra is making
00:30about their new pricing strategy and the role of the NBN.
00:35From our point of view, we want to make sure, and the Budget was part of this, that as our
00:40economy changes, that we get better at adapting and adopting technology, that our people are
00:45the big beneficiaries of those changes in our economy and in our technology base as
00:50well.
00:51And one of the reasons why we're so proud that over the two years of this Government
00:55we've created something like 820,000 jobs is because we recognise that as the economy
01:01changes and the world changes, we need to be creating good, secure, well-paid jobs and
01:07we need to be training people to adapt and adopt technology, and that's our focus.