Sixty thousand employees may lose their jobs in the telecom sector by the start of 2019, as a result of consolidation activities, which are forcing operators, infrastructure providers, tower companies and associated retail units to optimise their staffing. However, companies are looking to hire in areas, such as artificial intelligence and big data.
The telecom industry may let off people working in the customer support and financial functions department. These two segments are expected to let go of about 8,000 and 7,000 employees, respectively. Job losses are expected to ease as the industry stabilises and the sector will now focus on hiring freshers,
This is the second successive time that the telecom industry has witnessed staff shedding. After revenue and profitability were eroded due to a price war, some companies were forced to exit, while others merged. As operators slashed costs, other businesses, such as towers, infrastructure, retail chains and distributorships had to tighten their belts as well.
The telecom sector is now showing initial signs of stabilisation post consolidation. The number of telecom service providers has come down from eight to three private players in just two years.
At first there will be substantial job losses, but new roles will be created in large volumes, in areas such as project management and IT infrastructure. Profiles including data team leaders, technical directors and network installation are expected to be much in demand.
According to industry experts, there will not be much of an impact unlike in the past, and the telecom industry is on its way to stabilisation.
