Telenor Norway downsizing workforce
Sad news for employees who have been doing a great job for Telenor for a long time. Telenor Norway has decided to downsize its workforce in several locations across the country. Around 180 staff are affected.
Operations in Førde and Steinkjer are being closed. The business customer service centre in Stavanger will also be closing. The remainder of Telenor’s operations in Stavanger are not affected. The office in Lillehammer is being disposed of and employees will transfer to Fåberg. Additionally, the business division is being restructured, which will entail redundancies at Fornebu.
The reason for the reorganisation is the need to adapt the company to the fundamental digital changes taking place in society, as well as the ever-changing market conditions.
‘This is sad news for many employees who have been doing a great job for Telenor for many years. They will now be closely followed up on throughout the rest of the process. It is no easy decision to discontinue certain roles, but at the same time we have to renew and change our expertise,’ says Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.
There is currently a global technological shift taking place, which is touching each and every industry, and changing customers’ behaviour continuously. Our ambition is to offer customers simple, automated and more self-service services, which function seamlessly and quickly.
‘Telenor needs to take the lead in Norway’s digitisation, and this means that we need to make changes to our organisation and the way in which we work more often than before. We are seeing market developments occurring very rapidly, and we must ensure that Telenor is equipped as best as possible to encounter the challenges connected to the digital shift,’ says Berit Svendsen.
Telenor has 27 offices in Norway and will be making changes in 5 of these locations. Telenor will still be a major presence across the country, and will retain 24 offices after these changes.Those employees affected will be offered redundancy packages according to length of service. In Førde, employees will be offered roles at Telenor’s Rørvik operation. Employees in Stavanger may also stay on with Telenor at its offices in either Kongsvinger or Rørvik.
The Telenor Norway board has adopted the following changes:
Steinkjer: The office will be closed and 21 employees will be affected. They will be offered redundancy packages. The office will close on 31 December of this year.
Førde: The office will be closed and 17 employees will be affected. All employees will be offered roles at Telenor’s office in Rørvik, Nord-Trøndelag. They will also be offered redundancy packages.The office will close on 31 March 2017.
Stavanger: The business customer service centre will be closed and 84 employees will be affected. Employees who are willing to change locations to Kongsvinger or Rørvik will be made relocation offers. They will also be offered redundancy. The customer service centre will close on 31 March 2017. The remainder of Telenor’s operations in Stavanger, covering around 90 personnel, are not affected.
Fornebu: The business division is being restructured and result in around 60 personnel being surplus to requirements. These employees will be offered redundancy.
Lillehammer: The office will be closed and 46 employees will be relocated to Telenor’s operation at Fåberg. There will no redundancies. The Lillehammer office will close on 30 November of this year.
In the event of any questions, please contact Director of Communications Torild Lid Uribarri, mob. +47 911 44 381 or the Telenor Norway press office +47 800 80 900.
