Telstra claims its customers will receive better customer service after Australian call centre jobs in its Sensis advertising and directories business are outsourced to India and the Philippines.
Telstra has announced 648 job cuts at its Sensis division, which is responsible for its Yellow Pages business directory, as a result of a slowing advertising market.
“The vendors that we are considering provide services for customers that go beyond our service today, such as 24/7 operations and unique technologies that assist in processing efficiencies, which they do for many directory businesses around the world,” Sensis managing director John Allan told Fairfax.
Fairfax Media half-year profit slumps 39%
Fairfax Media has announced a first-half profit of $83 million, down 39% from $135.7 million year-on-year.
However, the company’s net profit increased to $386.3 million with the inclusion of the sale of its stake in New Zealand-based auction website Trade Me and its US agricultural business.
“Our balance sheet doesn’t need us to sell another asset. If someone comes in and offers us some sort of bizarre price you always have to worry about value for shareholders. No one’s put an option up that we haven’t thought of and considered,” Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood told The Australian.
Kloppers takes the second most generous exit package in Australian history
Outgoing BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers is set to take home an exit package worth $75.2 million at current market prices.
The payout comes second only to the $80 million compensation package former Macquarie Group managing director Allan Moss received upon his retirement in 2008.
Kloppers also has rights under the company’s long-term incentive plan to 917,324 BHP shares if the company outperforms a comparable group of major mining companies by 5.5% a year for five years.
Overnight
In New York, the S&P500 was down 0.685% to 1501.83. The Aussie dollar is down to $US102.44 cents.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
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