NTT three-year plan to trim 30,000 personnel

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. on April 16 announced that it will seek larger profits through restructuring which includes a personnel cut by as much as 30,000.

The group's three-year plan also includes the setting up of a new company which specializes in high-speed fiber-optic services.

Citing the declining profitability of the group's two local carriers (NTT East and NTT West) as the main reason, the group plans to promote the transfer of many of their employees to subsidiaries (or dismissals), and push employees into early retirement.

Under the plan, customer services which include repair and maintenance will be transferred to subsidiaries, so that NTT East and NTT West can concentrate on planning, strategy, and sales to corporate customers.

Reckless plan: union leader

President of the Telecommunication Industry Workers' Union Iwasaki Shun said the NTT restructuring plan is reckless in carrying out 27,000 job cuts under the existing plan, followed by an additional cut by 30,000 under the new plan.

Concerning the plan to consolidate the operation posts, the union leader argued that it would not only dismiss workers but also discard the company's public duties in quest of profitable businesses. (end)