Veon Cuts Jobs as it Returns to a Traditional Telco Model

Veon is cutting management jobs in Pakistan and Eastern Europe in its bid to switch to a traditional telecoms model. As per the new plan, every country where Veon operates will now report to its corporate headquarters. Veon is based in Amsterdam. Its recent move is an attempt to cut the operating costs and reduce staff at the company’s Dutch headquarters. Veon, previously known as VimpelCom, has been on a job cutting spree over the past three to four years. The global workforce of the company has declined to 40,000, a one-third reduction from 2014 until 2017. Veon released a statement, mentioning the reason behind its latest move. The statement reads: In 2016, Vimpelcom paid $795 million to settle a case with American and Dutch authorities. After reaching the settlement, it changed its name to Veon. It then sold its stake in an Italian mobile network this month for 2.45 billion euros. The reason behind this was to take full ownership of its businesses in Pakistan and Bangladesh through the money raised from the sale. Veon is among the top 10 mobile operators in the world in terms of the number of customers. The company recently hired Ursula Burns as its new Chief Executive Officer to reinvent and reintroduce itself to the world. Veon also announced last week that Kjell Morten Johnsen will be appointed as company’s Chief Operating Officer permanently after serving an interim stint in the same role for the past four months. Via CNBC