Telus is offering voluntary severance packages to about 700 employees across Canada, according to unions representing the workers.
The buyout offers come as the company continues to restructure, with many customer service jobs being outsourced to other countries over the past decade, reports the Globe and Mail.
Among those affected are 100 members of CUPE’s Telus employees union in Quebec, 90 members of the management union (SAMT-CUPE 5144), and around 510 members of the United Steelworkers union. These workers include both office staff and trades workers.
Luc Pouliot, president of SQET-CUPE 5044, said Telus told employees the buyouts were due to a reduced workload. Over the years, he said Telus has shifted many of its Quebec-based customer service jobs to countries like Morocco and Romania, reducing the need for as many workers in Canada.
Telus defended the move, stating that its investments in technology and automation have made its services more efficient. The company described the buyout offers as above the legal requirements, giving employees the option to retire or transition to other careers.
“This is standard practice for us,” said Telus spokesperson Richard Gilhooley to the Globe and Mail. He added that only a small number of employees are expected to accept the buyouts and that the company reserves the right to limit how many workers can leave.
Unions, however, continue to push back. CUPE and other labour groups are urging the government to place stricter conditions on companies that receive public funding, to prevent job losses in Canada.
This isn’t the first time Telus has reduced its headcount with voluntary severance packages. In 2023, the company offered buyouts to 2,000 employees as part of its shift toward digital self-service and automation. Telus, which had 106,400 employees at the end of 2023, says these changes are part of its ongoing efforts to modernize its operations.
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Telus needs to get the stock price up, anyway they can.
I was a shareholder and their stock price was pretty much stagnant. Only upside to owning was their 7.72% dividend yield.
Their whole business model needs an overhaul and it should start by replacing the CEO and board members.
It wasn't that long ago that customer service was most important. These days it's all about the dollar for many companies. Eat the rich.
They didn't even give there retail employees a raise this year so….Screw you Telus!
On their website they pretend they are sooooo interested in people and giving back, with messages to first nations and whatnot, yet they send customer support oversea. I don't mind foreigners, just not for over the phone customer support.
This has nothing to do with automation. Being one of the thousands laid off a couple years ago, they are sending everything overseas to Telus international. Cheap labor