Leadership questionnaire and Tuesday meeting

There are rumblings at Telekom Austria. At least in the official center of the company in Austria. As reported by Klein Zeitung, the company's plans are causing unrest among the workforce. On the one hand, it is about eliminating hundreds of jobs in this country, and on the other hand, it is about creating competence centers at the group level in subsidiaries in other countries.

The company stresses that the cuts in Austria – where around 350 full-time jobs are currently affected annually – are part of a long-term strategy and are designed in a “socially responsible” way. This is through “social plans, retirement, natural fluctuations and irreplaceability.” Workforce also confirms that layoffs are largely avoided. At the same time, there is growing concern that “Austria will be reduced as a location,” as one employee said. The works council announced shortly after in the Kronen Zeitung newspaper that it “fears that Austria will turn into a pure sales company in the medium term.”

Austria and the union contract

A sensitive thesis, of course. After all, Austria owns a 28.42% stake in Telekom via ÖBAG. At the same time, there is a union agreement with Mexican majority owner América Móvil. According to ÖBAG, this ensures that the company's core functions and corporate headquarters remain in Austria. If such plans were discussed, “they would not be allowed,” says the state holding company.

A1 itself is trying to smooth things out these days. The only thing that is clear is that the Supervisory Board will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, exceptionally, and the Labor Council has requested this. The topic will be a catalog of questions submitted by employee representatives. The answer should explain the exact scope of the planned competency pooling. Business meetings at Telekom were announced on May 7.