Optus to cut 200 jobs after horror year

Australia’s second-largest telco is cutting 200 jobs across its business as it attempts to reset following a disastrous year that included a Triple Zero outage linked to two deaths and a $100 million fine for predatory sales practices.

Optus would not confirm a breakdown of roles to be axed but a source familiar with the matter said the figure was about 200, with potential for some of those to be redeployed within the company after a consultation process that began on Tuesday.

An Optus spokeswoman said the company-wide changes included new hires, leadership changes and “role adjustments”.

“We are bringing in new expertise where needed, supporting transitions and simplifying areas of the business to drive faster, more effective decision-making,” the spokeswoman said.

“We recognise some of the changes will have a significant impact on some of our people and we are committed to approaching this decision with empathy and respect,” the spokeswoman said.

The job cuts will face scrutiny given they come at a time when the company has been repeatedly criticised for under-investment and offshoring, which it has promised to dial back.

Optus is reeling from a bruising 12 months including a catastrophic Triple Zero outage in September which was linked to two deaths that are under coronial investigation. A review into the incident by corporate and public sector veteran Kerry Schott, released in December, found at least 10 separate mistakes by Optus engineers and contractor Nokia, describing the failures as “inexcusable”.

Optus chairman John Arthur said at the time that the board was taking action on individual accountability, “which will extend from financial penalties through to termination in appropriate cases”. The board accepted all 21 of the review’s recommendations, including moving its operations centre onshore to Australia.

Schott’s review stopped short of calling for chief executive Stephen Rue’s sacking, noting the former NBN boss had started at Optus in November 2024 and was leading a five-year transformation program.

Singtel, the Singapore-based parent company that wholly owns Optus, cut investment in the Australian mobile network by $237 million last year. Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde warned after the September outage that the failures reflected systemic governance breakdowns rather than isolated technical errors.

Optus’ offshore call centre staff repeatedly failed to escalate warnings from customers about the Triple Zero outage, which was caused in part by errors in Optus’ outsourced network management team. The telco has promised to bring that back in house and hire more Australian call centre workers.

It comes as the federal government on Tuesday announced a wholesale review of the laws governing the emergency services network.

“A comprehensive review of Triple Zero legislation and regulations  is a key step in rebuilding public confidence in the system and ensuring we have the right framework to reduce the risk of a major outage happening again,” Communications Minister Anika Wells told a CommsDay summit in Canberra.

“We must do everything in our power to ensure Triple Zero remains reliable, resilient and fit for purpose – now and into the future.”

A third Senate inquiry hearing on Thursday will examine the deadly Triple Zero outage, with Optus executives – along with executives from its parent company Singtel – set to be grilled in a hearing led by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Optus agreed to pay $100 million in penalties in November after it was sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for selling products to vulnerable customers they could not afford or use.

The Communication Workers Union has been contacted for comment.

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