"Subject to trade union negotiations, Telia intends to reduce its workforce by 3,000 positions in 2024, which will affect all units within Telia," writes Telia.
The cuts will hit the Swedish operations the hardest, with 1,400 positions to be eliminated, corresponding to 16 percent of the Swedish workforce. Of these, around 300 are consultants, according to the Unionen trade union's information.
For Unionen, around 300-400 members will be affected.
"It's of course sad to receive such news, at the same time, we understand that Telia needs to reduce costs for the business," says Tomas Andersson, chairman of the Unionen club at Telia, in a written comment.
Broad notice
Seko's club chairman at Telia, Pär Axelsson, has not received much information yet.
We haven't got much more details than what's in the press release, he says.
He therefore doesn't want to speculate on how this will affect, which groups will be hit the hardest, in production or among salaried employees.
But the feeling is that it's quite broad, says Axelsson, who represents nearly 1,000 members among technicians and production employees.
"Making large profits"
Seko's national chairman adds:
"This is a very large notice that will have major consequences for our members. I'm surprised that they're taking such drastic measures in a company that also makes large profits," says Gabriella Lavecchia.
Prior to the cuts, Telia had 19,730 employees, of which 8,500 were in Sweden.
"This is a tough decision, but one that is necessary to ensure Telia's long-term success," says Telia CEO Patrik Hofbauer in a comment in the press release.
Steadily fewer
As recently as 2021, Telia laid off 1,000 employees.
In line with Telia's shrinking as a company, the cuts have come. At its largest under the 2000s, counted in the number of employees, Telia had 32,000 employees in 2008. At that time, the group included, among other things, the Asian operations that were wound up in scandalous circumstances when suspected bribery was discovered.
Estimated restructuring costs of a total of 1.4 billion kronor are not expected to affect Telia's financial outlook for 2024.
Stock market winner this year
Telia also announces that the company will restructure its financing program for suppliers, the volume of which will be reduced by 50 percent during the second half of 2024.
At the end of 2023, the company's supplier financing program stood at 11.5 billion kronor.
