Eircom’s 1,200 staff cuts ‘only a first step’

EIRCOM’S plans to axe 1,200 jobs by mid-2011, while not officially confirmed until yesterday, had been widely expected since March.

At that point the company launched a three-week “root and branch” review of its operation in response to the pre-tax loss of €791 million for the first half of its financial year and the €433m deficit in its pension scheme.

Among its first moves were to cut senior management pay by 10% and the rest of management remuneration by between 5%-10%.