Optus is laying off about 200 jobs across Australia because it will withdraw from Virgin Mobile`s (Virgin Mobile) brand.
The company said it would phase out the brand over the next two years. Optus held or jointly held the brand for up to 18 years.
The news came after the telecoms operator put pressure on customers to switch to (NBN), a national broadband network, faster than the date had been set. It was fined 1.5 million yuan on Wednesday.
It is reported that Optus will close about 36 Virgin Mobile stores, lay off about 200 people, and transfer all Virgin Mobile customers to Optus.
Optus, which has been talking to affected stores and employees on Wednesday, is understood to be considering the possibility of reassigning some of its staff to Optus stores.
"for Virgin Mobile employees, our policy has always been to talk to those who were first affected by the reforms," a Optus spokesman said on Wednesday. We will discuss with the affected individuals plans to redeploy posts within the entire Optus company. "
The company said in the next few days, Optus will contact Virgin Mobile customers to inform it of the changes and their choices.
Virgin Mobile Australia, founded in 2000, is a 50% joint venture between the Optus and the UK Virgin Mobile UK. In 2002, the UK Virgin Mobile also raised its stake to just below 75%.
Optus was acquired by Singapore Telecom in 2001. In 2006, Optus signed a 15-year agreement to buy shares in its partners for 30 million yuan, allowing Optus to sell a wider range of products under the brand, including fixed-line telephones and the Internet.
In December, Australia`s Fair Competition and Consumer Council (ACCC) filed a lawsuit against Optus. On Wednesday morning, a federal court ruled that Optus would be fined 1.5 million yuan.
The court learned that Optus told about 13,999 customers that their services would be cut off if they did not switch the network to NBN, sometimes only for 30 days.
In other cases, the telecoms company deceived customers by telling them that they had to register Optus`s NBN service, but in fact the customer could choose any network service provider.
From October 2015 to March 2017, Optus earned about $750,000 from misleading business activities.
ACCC Chairman Sims (Rod Sims) lambasted his fraud.
"companies should not make false statements and distort customer decision-making," Sims said. It is particularly important that many Australians switch to NBN, for the first time. "
"it is illegal for enterprises to mislead customers and make them understand wrongly through their communication. Today`s penalty is a warning to all businesses, and ACCC is bound to act on it. "
