NBN Co to cut 800 staff by end of 2020

NBN Co is set to cut around 800 staff by the end of the year as part of a broader post-rollout restructure of the company.

CEO Stephen Rue said that the company would slim down the size of its direct workforce from around 6300 employees to “around 5500 people by the end of this calendar year.”

“As we have approached the final stages of the initial build, we have talked about changing the size and shape of the organisation and we are now preparing for the next phase of the company’s evolution,” Rue said.

Rue said NBN Co had paused the majority of internal restructuring activities over the past six months, in part to stay resourced enough to meet “data and operational demands brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.”

But it will now move ahead with a substantial internal restructure that takes effect from August 3.

Under the restructure, residential and business sales and marketing functions will come together under a single executive, Brad Whitcomb.

This effectively reverts to the way the function was structured prior to June 2017, and will mean NBN Co’s current chief customer officer for business, Paul Tyler, will leave the company next month.

NBN Co will also set up a new ‘Networks, Engineering and Security’ business unit that will “further integrate technology, architecture, engineering and network functions”.

That unit will be led by John Parkin as chief engineering officer.

NBN Co said it will also create an integrated operations group in the form of Network Planning and Deployment (NPD), led by Kathrine Dyer as chief operations officer.

“NBN Co’s Operations unit will integrate both customer-led and network demand driven requests, through a single demand forecast and service area to streamline supply, order, design and planning processes,” it said, adding that “NBN Co’s contact centre environment will be integrated for further simplification.”

Additionally, NBN Co’s strategy and transformation function led by Will Irving “will be expanded to include the company’s legal, data and analytics functions”, and will be renamed ‘Strategic Services’. 

Justin Forsell, NBN Co’s chief legal counsel and security, will exit the company later this year.

NBN Co’s finance, service and analytics business unit will be retitled ‘Finance’, led by CFO Philip Knox.

Chief information officer Debbie Taylor will continue to lead Systems Engineering and Operations, while Sally Kincaid will continue as chief people and culture officer, and Felicity Ross will continue as chief corporate affairs officer, the company said.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher told iTnews in a statement that "organisational decisions and resourcing are matters for NBN Co's Board and management."

“It has been well flagged that NBN Co will take a different shape in moving from being a network builder to a network operator," Fletcher said.

"Having completed the initial volume build with the network available to more than 11.7 million homes and businesses, NBN Co is moving into its next phase.

“It has taken many hands and a great deal of hard work by everyone involved in NBN over the years.

“To everyone who has been involved in NBN over the years, and the many people still at work delivering this immense project, the nation is grateful for your contribution.”