Telstra Plans to Cut 8,000 Jobs in Make-or-Break Overhaul

Telstra Corp. plans to cut 8,000 jobs, sell assets and potentially spin off a new infrastructure business in a make-or-break attempt to fend off competition. “We are now at a tipping point,” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Penn said in a statement. Under pressure to change course as Telstra’s stock price and earnings dwindle, Penn said Australia’s largest telecommunications company will undergo a “radical simplification.” More than 1,800 consumer and small-business products will be distilled into just 20, helping to eliminate two thirds of customer-service calls by 2022.