Telefónica Deutschland (FWB:O2D) is separating three call centres it inherited from E-Plus and may hive them off.
Telefónica Deutschland (FWB:O2D) is separating three call centres it inherited from E-Plus and may hive them off.
In 2012, parent company Telefónica sold its call centres in Spain to private equity firm Bain Capital.
Telefónica Deutschland is trying to reduce its costs and is hoping more customers will seek contracts and support online rather than via costly call centres.
A spokespersontold TelecomFinance that it plans “to operate our contact centers as independent, separated legal entities as quickly as possible”, which allow the sites to be compared and compete against each other. The new units should be carved out by the end of the year and will begin operating independently in early 2016.
“A decision regarding the future operating model of the customer service will take place in the middle of next year,” the spokesperson said.
Regardless of any asset sale, the operator is looking to trim its call centre staff following its merger with E-Plus in 2014.
Many of its call centre employees are reportedly on short-term contracts making it relatively easy for Telefónica Deutschland to cut its workforce.
In July, Telefónica Deutschland sold 7,700 redundant mobile sites, primarily on rooftops, to a Deutsche Telekom unit for an undisclosed sum.
Telefónica Deutschland can use the sites without restrictions until they become unnecessary as a result of the integration of its network with that of E-Plus. In future, the sites will be managed by Deutsche Telekom subsidiary Deutsche Funkturm, which acquires, plans, builds and manages base stations for all three mobile operators.