MultiChoice plans to retrench 2 194 workers

MORE than 2 000 MultiChoice employees have been served with retrenchment letters, as the broadcaster plans for a business “realignment”.

Employees were informed of the decision yesterday by MultiChoice Group chief executive Calvo Mawela.

The 2 194 employees affected by the restructuring come from MultiChoice’s customer care (call centre) and walk-in centres.

The pay-TV operator says the restructuring is part of their strategic realignment of its customer service delivery model, as customers prefer engaging “digitally” with the company. “The realignment, is a response to the changing behaviour of our customers, who are increasingly moving away from traditional voice calls and visits to walk-in centres and adopting new self-service and digital technologies to engage with the company,” said Mawela.

The Information Communication and Technology Union (ICTU) believes MultiChoice have acted unlawfully.

However the union said the employer notified employees it identified 1 790 employees who were to be retrenched.

“The union has not been officially informed, which makes the process unlawful,” said Thabang Mothelo, ICTU’s media officer.

Mothelo said the union would seek urgent engagement with MultiChoice to bring them up to speed.

“The employer has timed Friday to make the announcement which shows some cowardice tendencies of not dealing with the consequences of their actions.”

Mawela said it was a difficult decision for the pay-TV operator to make.

“As a business driven by advancing technologies, we must continue to drive efficiencies yet be agile enough to adapt to evolving customer needs to ensure that we remain relevant, competitive and sustainable.

“We must act decisively to align to the change in customer behaviour and competition from OTT services, because if we don’t reposition now, we run the risk of being completely misaligned and we put everyone’s jobs at risk,” Mawela said.

In the transition however, Mawela said the company would be making new roles available for multi-skilled employees with the expertise, skills and technological prowess to enhance the customer experience.

MultiChoice said it saw a steady decline in the number of phone calls and e-mails to the call centres and customer service centres over the past three years. This, as self-service digital channels continued to grow to make up 70% of all customer service contacts.

“We have worked hard to minimise the impact of this business realignment on our people – those directly impacted by the process and their colleagues in the rest of the business.

“As part of a comprehensive support programme agreed with unions and other employee representative forums, we will be offering voluntary severance packages, wellness support and financial planning, and will continue paying for current studies for MultiChoice bursary funded employees and relevant skills development… ,” he said.

The employer shows cowardice of not dealing with the consequences Thabang Mothelo ICTU SPOKESPERSON