Three has responded to claims in the press regarding reported job losses; yes there will be a headcount reduction, but this is not something it has been hiding.

In an interview with the Press Association, CEO Dave Dyson confirmed there would be job losses as a result of a new technology platform being implemented, however this is not new. This is a project which has been underway for months, Three has been managing the process and has announced these cuts before.

Speaking to Telecoms.com, Three confirmed the job losses, roughly 300 positions in the IT department, though this is part of a greater automation and digital transformation project. This should not indicate there is a new efficiency programme.

“The changes will be phased over the next four years and we’ll be helping staff to find roles with our technology partners, in other parts of the Three business or outside Three where necessary,” the company has stated.

While it is never a positive job to talk about job losses, such developments should be taken with context. This is not a new initiative from Three, neither is it a particularly unique case across the industry. Numerous operators are reducing headcount as new technologies are implemented, old technologies are retired, processes streamlined and automation trends become more influential. Three has been named as the culprit in this example, but almost every operator is going through the same process, some with much more significant cuts.

Thanks to automation trends and the big squeeze on profit margins, operators are being forced to reduce exposure. Sometimes this does mean implementing new technology to replace a company’s  largest overhead; the workforce. According to data compiled by our sister site Light Reading, over the last two years, there has been a 6% drop in total jobs for the top 20 telcos in Europe and the America’s. AT&T and Deutsche Telekom are the top slashers, though America Movil isn’t too far behind.

In this example, cuts are coming, though it is a process which Three has been quite up-front about over the last couple of months. For those Three employees reading this, this isn’t another unpleasant surprise.