Telenor shuts down its all sales and service centres in Pakistan – a good number of employees may lose job

By Sarmad Ali

(Pak Destiny) Telenor Pakistan, which is facing a tough competition with Mobilink, is going to close all its 17 sales and service centres in Pakistan.
The move will surely render a good number of its staff jobless. Telenor is facing uphill task to compete Mobilink which recently had a merger with Warid Telecom.

Telenor which has over 38m customers said in a statement: “We will serve customers through 289 technologically advanced franchises across the country. It has been decided to divest these 17 Telenor operated Sales & Service Centres nationwide starting January 2017. With the changing dynamics of industry, customer demands and technology, it is now possible to serve customers in a better, faster and more efficient way through various other means,” it said. “The move, primarily in line with Telenor’s long-term ambitions to empower its customers, will however impact the company’s S&SC staff linked with these channels who have been offered a Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS),” Telenor said.
The company is also offering ‘golden shake-hand’ (VSS) to its employees — offering a payout of up to seven gross salaries, including payment in lieu of notice period, plus other benefits that include medical allowances, in addition to annual bonus (2.25 salaries) and gratuity for eligible employees under the company policy.
The cell phone industry which saw phenomenal growth over a past decade is facing extreme competition making it difficult for the four players – Mobilink-Warid, Telenor, Ufone and Zong – to earn healthy revenue.
Telenor’s step is taken by some in the industry as ‘need of the hour’ but other criticised it for making anti-employee move that may force the other cellular companies to follow suit. Pak Destiny

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