Despite what it called “resilient” second quarter financial and operating results, Vancouver-based communications giant Telus is cutting its head count by more than 6,000 people..Company president, Darren Entwistle, made the announcement on Thursday after the company reported record increases in customer growth, revenues and cash flow. .However, second quarter net income dropped 61% to $196 million from the same period a year ago, which it blamed on a tighter regulatory environment..“This is in response to the evolving regulatory, competitive and macroeconomic environment that we currently face… against the backdrop of rapid transformation in our industry and the ways in which our customers want to engage with us,” Entwistle said in a news release..“Today we are announcing a significant investment in an extensive efficiency and effectiveness initiative across Telus," he added..In other words, cutting 4,000 domestic positions along with 2,000 in its international division. The numbers include early retirement and voluntary departure packages which it said would yield annual cost savings of more than $325 million..Led by its mobile division, revenues climbed 13% to $4.9 billion. Free cash flow, a measure of a company’s ability to fund capital projects — and dividends — rose 36% to $279 million. To that end, it declared a 36-cent stipend on its shares, up 7.4% from last year and representing an impressive 6% yield..The company said it added 293,000 new customers in the quarter, 46,000 higher than last year, which means they are laying off about 7% of that growth in terms of staffing levels and about 5% of its total workforce of 108,000..The company also added 110,000 mobile phone customers that connected a record 124,000 devices, its second-best quarter since 2010. It also added 59,000 fixed line customers, including 35,000 new internet subscribers..Internationally, it blamed “increasing macroeconomic pressure” among large tech clients for slowing its expected rate of revenue and profit growth in 2023..Telus International is a separate publicly traded standalone subsidiary formed in 2021 that operates in Guatemala, El Salvador, the Philippines, Bulgaria and Romania, among others..“Despite these near-term challenges, we remain highly confident in (Telus International‘s) strategy and investment thesis. This is amplified by meaningful opportunities in respect of digital transformation — particularly with generative AI adoption — which remains a vibrant tailwind for… medium- and long-term growth and profitability,” said Entwhistle..Telus was formed from the privatization of Alberta Government Telephones in 1991, which in turn was one of the province’s first Crown corporations in 1906. It acquired Edmonton Telephone Corp. (EdTel) in 1995.
