Vodafone Hutchison Australia has revealed that it plans to restructure its contact centre site in Hobart, Tasmania, resulting in "less than 100" of its employees at the site being left without a job.
The announcement came on 7 May, Vodafone chief strategy officer Dan Lloyd saying in a statement on the company's website that the new structure for the Hobart site would not be confirmed until the consultation process with employees is complete.
According to Lloyd, Vodafone's decision is a result of the decline in call volumes and complaints the company has received. Customers have showed more interesting in engaging through online services.
"We have invested around $200 million in our Hobart contact centre since 2013, and the centre will continue to be a key part of our business," Lloyd said.
"As a result of our network, product and service improvements, we are receiving significantly fewer complaints and calls from customers. Regrettably, this means we no longer need as many roles in our call centres, including Hobart.
"It’s been a tough decision, but we have started consulting with Hobart-based employees about a proposed restructure which would involve a reduction in the number of roles at the centre," he said.
Vodafone said that the move would not mean it will increase its overseas-based call centre workforce.
As part of the consultation process, the company will seek expressions of interest in voluntary redundancies.
"At the conclusion of the consultation process, the final structure will be confirmed and we will work with impacted employees to seek redeployment in other parts of the business wherever possible, and provide access to outplacement services," Lloyd said.
According to the number of consumer complaints to the TIO as registered by a quarterly report provided by the Communications Alliance, Vodafone has shown a steady level of number of complaints received.
Vodafone received 5 complaints per 10,000 is the latest quarterly report having registered 4.9 per 10,000 in the previous quarter.
Vodafone reported a $177.8 million loss for the full year ending December 2017, a 26.4 per cent improvement on its $241.8 million loss the previous year.
