STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 2, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- TeliaSonera Finland has today initiated the formal employee/employer negotiations, which is estimated to materialize in a reduction of approximately 400 jobs. The negotiation processes will affect the entire profit center TeliaSonera Finland excluding the customer call centers. The process is expected to be ended in May 2003, after which the final outcome of this process can be seen. TeliaSonera Sweden (LSE:TLSNq) (Other OTC:TLSNF) has today also initiated discussions with the trade unions about efficiency measures in Sweden.
Following the merger between Telia and Sonera (Other OTC:SNRAY) (Other OTC:SNEAF) (Other OTC:SNRAF) in December 2002, and the new division of responsibilities within the Group, an extensive overhaul has been made of the profit center TeliaSonera Finland in order to establish the number of jobs needed in the segment oriented working approach and in order to achieve a competitive cost level throughout the company. The number of jobs in Finland will be reduced following a need to reduce overlap. In connection with this TeliaSonera Finland has today initiated negotiations with the trade unions to establish how many people will be affected by the job reductions.
The efficiency measures are part of both the synergies following the merger and the stand-alone improvement possibilities in TeliaSonera Finland.
The introduction of a customer-driven structure, organized through the business segments Consumer, Business and Large Corporate instead of the previous product-oriented business segments has significantly improved the efficiency of the company. Several synergy decisions have been taken during the first months of integration between Telia and Sonera, such as the new corporate and competence center structure.
"In the highly competitive Finnish telecom market it is important that we continuously ensure that we have a cost level that is competitive and in relation to the level of service and added value that customers expect", says Anni Vepsalainen, President of TeliaSonera Finland.
For further information journalists can contact:
Anni Vepsalainen, President, TeliaSonera Finland, phone: +358 2040 58810
Juha Pentti, Vice President, Human Resources, phone: +358 2040 58711
Jyrki Karasvirta, Vice President, Acting Head of
Brand Marketing and Communications, phone: +358 40 7372145
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/02/20030402BIT00820/wkr0001.doc
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/02/20030402BIT00820/wkr0002.pdf