Keystone
The cable network operator UPC cuts ten percent of the jobs.
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The failed deal with Sunrise has drastic consequences for UPC employees. As the finance portal “Inside Paradeplatz” reports, jobs are being cut on a large scale. According to the UPC, ten percent of the 1,600 jobs in Switzerland will be cut.
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Originally, the cable network operator UPC wanted to cut even more jobs. However, the number was revised downwards during the consultation process.
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«Layoffs cannot be avoided»
“UPC strives to achieve the reduction through natural fluctuation and measures such as internal changes or early retirement wherever possible. UPC will make every effort to keep the number of layoffs or layoffs as low as possible, ”said UPC spokeswoman Stephanie Niggli. “However, UPC cannot avoid layoffs.”
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However, it is currently not possible to name a final number of layoffs, since the focus is on a reduction through natural fluctuation. “We intend to have the final operating model in place by the end of April 2020 and are currently expecting the number of positions in our organization to be reduced by around 10 percent,” said Niggli. UPC Switzerland employs a total of 1,600 people.
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All functions and levels affected
Various areas across all functions and levels are affected by the dismantling. UPC has a social plan that applies to the affected employees in the event of layoffs. This social plan had been finalized with UPC’s social partners. As required, UPC has informed the employment offices of the cantons concerned about the dismantling, said Niggli.
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UPC started the turnaround course a year and a half ago in order to achieve better business figures. However, the cable network operator has not yet been able to stop the downward slide. Last year, sales fell further by 3.5 percent to CHF 1.25 billion. After all, the drop in the number of subscribers was significantly slowed down. After 153,000 subscriptions were lost in 2018, the loss last year was 68,000 subscriptions.
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Especially in Zurich and the canton of Vaud
The broken deal with Sunrise is not the trigger for the dismantling, said Niggli. “These measures were part of UPC’s growth plan from the start to further simplify and digitize the business – which would have been done regardless of this or any other strategic event.”
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The purchase of UPC by Sunrise was canceled at the end of October. The deal, worth CHF 6.3 billion, failed due to resistance from the major Sunrise shareholders led by the German Freenet, which owns almost a quarter of the Sunrise shares.
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Employees from all areas of UPC Switzerland are fired. Especially in the cantons of Zurich and Vaud. Sunrise wanted to buy its competitor UPC in 2019. The 6.3 billion deal burst at the last moment. (Pfu / SDA)
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