Liberty Global to reduce Swiss-Austrian headcount

Liberty Global’s Swiss and Austrian units are to reduce their staff headcount by up to 250 between now and 2018 as they consolidate their operations into a single structure. 

According to the company, the reduction will predominantly affect UPC Cablecom in Switzerland and apply across the business. The numbers could be lower if growth is higher than expected, and the operator plans to achieve the reduction without compulsory redundancies wherever possible. However, a number of redundancies are anticipated.

UPC Austria and UPC Cablecom announced they were consolidating their operations into a single regional unit at the end of last year.

“We’re pleased with the outcome of our dialogue with the social partners. The agreement shows the understanding of our vision to create a strong, joint regional organisation for Austria and Switzerland,” said UPC Austria/UPC Cablecom CEO Eric Tveter.

Giorgio Pardini, member of the executive board of Swiss trade union Syndicom: “Our top priority was to ensure that the measures will be implemented in a socially acceptable way. In intense negotiations we achieved a solution that’s sustainable for all parties.”