C&W to cull jobs in Ireland

Telecoms company Cable and Wireless (C&W) is in the process of shedding some 28 jobs from its workforce in Ireland, a spokesman for the telecoms firm told Electricnews.net.

C&W is currently undergoing a global restructuring following its takeover of Energis last year. The firm announced in January that it was planning to restructure the firm into two units: a UK unit and one dealing with international business. The company announced it planned to scale back the scope and control of the group corporate centre.

However, these new job cuts are understood to be directly related to the Energis takeover and are not part of the global restructuring.

The Energis takeover in August last year saw Cable and Wireless spend £700m to acquire the firm. At the time, Energis confirmed to ElectricNews.net that there would be some 700 jobs at stake throughout the two businesses.

However, Cable and Wireless is still doing business and making deals in Ireland. It recently announced a deal with the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) to offer a low-cost telecoms service to Irish primary schools. Under the agreement, C&W would be recommended as the preferred supplier for the services, and will help fund a nationwide anti-bullying campaign, providing training for principals and deputies in a bid to tackle the problem. The IPPN will gain a certain amount of revenue from C&W, which in turn will be invested in an online modular training programme to combat bullying.

Prior to the job cuts, C&W employed some 150 people in Ireland - in Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Shannon.

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