South African fixed-line telecoms operator, Telkom, said on Wednesday it would continue with its plan to lay-off 4,400 staff.

This is after a court on Wednesday ordered it to halt job cuts until workers were consulted about the process.

“It is a temporary delay. The restructuring must continue,” the firm’s spokeswoman, Jacqui O’Sullivan, said.
O’Sullivan said the company needed to cut 7,800 jobs on total.

Telkom, in which the government owns a stake of about 40 per cent, is in the middle of a turnaround plan that aims to bring down costs and better compete with wireless operators, MTN Group and Vodacom.

Three labour unions had taken Telkom to court, arguing that workers were being left out of the process.

“The court ruling is a huge victory for us, because it gives us an opportunity to participate in the process,” Solidarity Deputy General Secretary Johan Kruger said.

“There is a possibility that there will eventually be job losses but by being able to participate in the process, we can try and save jobs.”

Telkom employs about 18,000 people.