[JANALA]

PCCW plans to lay off staff
Posted: 04 February 2009 1540 hrs

HONG KONG : Hong Kong telecoms giant PCCW said Wednesday that it plans to lay off some workers as part of cost-cutting measures to cope with slowing business growth.

In a statement, the company said the cuts were "part of our normal daily business operation," and that they would not be across-the-board.

PCCW did not specify how many jobs might go, although a trade union warned of up to 600 staff posts being at risk, some five percent of the workforce.

"It is clear that the global economy has slowed down substantially and the Hong Kong economy is also slowing," PCCW said. "This is a prudent reaction to the reality in the market."

But the statement said it would continue to recruit new staff to the parts of its business that are growing.

The firm said staff numbers had grown by 40 percent to 17,000 between 2004 and last year as its business expanded.

The PCCW Employees General Union told reporters Wednesday that it was told by company sources of plans to cut costs by 30 percent and that it might lead to 600 layoffs.

"We are very frustrated with the company's decision. It should not cut jobs at bad times like this. We may hold a staff meeting to discuss if we will take any action," Terry Ip, a union spokesman, told AFP.

The news was announced just before an extraordinary general meeting later Wednesday, when shareholders will vote on a controversial bid by its chairman Richard Li and his partner China Netcom to take the company private.

- AFP /ls