New Delhi, Apr 3: State-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is likely to cut as many as 54,000 employees as the board of the company has approved a retrenchment plan, according to media reports.
The board is likely to take a final decision on this after the Lok Sabha elections. The telco’s board has given the green signal to three out of 10 suggestions recommended by an expert committee set up by the Centre in the March meeting, the report said citing an unnamed source.
The daily quoted the sources as saying, “Announcing the VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) package or job cuts and shutting down businesses of the telecom firm would have huge implications on employees and ongoing elections. DoT decided to wait and watch.”
Reports earlier mentioned that the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) had in February asked loss-making state-run telecom companies BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to explain their revival plan and give an assurance to attain higher revenue for getting financial aid.
At present, BSNL has about 1.76 lakh staff and MTNL, which operates in only Delhi and Mumbai, has around 22,000 staff. It is estimated that 50 per cent of BSNL employees and 16,000 MTNL staff will retire in the next 5-6 years.
The report stated that the proposed job cuts at BSNL represent about 31 per cent of its 174,312 ageing workforce. The proposed retirement scheme will help BSNL to save a total of Rs 13,895 crore over the next six years on the wage bill.
The board has reportedly also okayed suggestions on the reduction of retirement age from the present 60 years to 58 years, and VRS for all staff aged 50 and above and accelerating the allocation of 4G spectrum to BSNL.
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