Indosat Ooredoo has cut 677 jobs in a bid to deal with fierce competition in the Indonesia mobile market.
The Jakarta Post reported that the jobs accounted for around 16% of the operator’s workforce, with Indosat’s director and chief HR officer Irsyad Sahroni saying that over 80% of those who lost their jobs were provided with severance pay “above the statutory requirements”.
The president director and CEO of Indosat Ahmad Al-Neama told the news outlet that cutting the jobs represented a redistribution of resources that would ultimately allow the operator to offer better customer service and compete more effectively.
Indosat, which is controlled by Ooredoo, is Indonesia’s second-placed operator with nearly 60 million subscribers, the majority of which are on 4G tariffs. It is in the midst of a debt reduction strategy which last year saw it sell off 3100 towers for IDR6.39 trillion ($467 million).
