Pakistan’s Telenor-Ufone telecom merger has officially entered a difficult and tense new phase. The newly merged entity, ‘e&’, expects to lay off hundreds of employees. This large-scale restructuring aims to eliminate duplicate positions across multiple corporate departments.
According to sources, the workforce rationalization process has already started. Management plans to complete this downsizing over the next few weeks. This major shift follows the legal completion of the merger between Telenor Pakistan and Ufone.
Overlapping Roles Trigger Massive Job Cuts
The integration of the two telecom operators created massive duplication of roles. Consequently, this duplication drives the upcoming downsizing. Multiple key departments will witness significant restructuring. These areas include sales, marketing, finance, human resources, technology, customer services, and administration.
Before the merger, Telenor Pakistan employed around 800 people. Meanwhile, nearly 300 employees from Ufone have already shifted to the company’s headquarters at 345. Insiders expect even more employee transfers as the operational integration progresses.
Currently, the merged workforce substantially exceeds operational requirements. Therefore, insiders estimate that the company could reduce total employee strength by nearly 500. This reduction will bring the final headcount closer to Jazz, Pakistan’s largest mobile operator. For comparison, Jazz currently employs around 1,100 people.
Telenor-Ufone Merger: Severance Packages Shrink for Affected Staff
However, affected employees face a harsh financial reality. Unlike previous telecom mergers in Pakistan, employees are unlikely to receive generous Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) packages.
During earlier industry consolidations, companies offered highly lucrative payouts. This trend was particularly true after the Warid-Mobilink merger that created Jazz. In contrast, sources state that ‘e&’ is considering very limited compensation. The current package under consideration covers only a few months’ salary rather than massive, traditional payouts.
Rising Uncertainty & Official Response
As a result, employees express growing uncertainty over their job security as integration accelerates. Staff members heavily fear that the restructuring will continue aggressively over the coming weeks. The company actively seeks to cut costs, remove overlapping positions, and improve overall operational efficiency.
In fact, the restructuring has already started affecting top-tier employees. Recently, a senior sales official resigned from the organization. This departure occurred after the official competed directly for a single position in the merged organization.
When contacted to seek an official version on the matter, Saad Mustafa Waraich, Director Corporate Communications Merge co PTML, responded:
At this stage of a newly amalgamated organisation, our focus remains on integration, establishing operating structures, governance and policies. With that priority, we cannot comment on speculation related to internal plans.
