German Telecom giant Deutsche Telekom to cut administrative jobs

German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom AG plans to cut jobs in administration as part of its strategy to reduce costs, company spokesman Husam Azrak said Monday. Azrak said he couldn't confirm any numbers because such plans are still in the early stages. German daily Handelsblatt Monday reported that up to 1,600 positions will be cut at Deutsche Telekom's Bonn headquarters as part of its medium-term strategic plan, which runs through 2015, but Azrak said he couldn't confirm this. Bloomberg News also reported that the company may cut as many as 400 jobs a year through 2015, citing Deutsche Telekom spokesman Christian Schwolow. Deutsche Telekom has cut thousands of jobs in Germany in the past years to reduce costs as traditional fixed-line telephony has been declining and prices for Internet and mobile-phone offers are under pressure due to tough competition. The company is also scaling down its international footprint and said in March it planned to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T Inc.

---