Alex Webb, Columnist

These Telco Job Cuts Are a Bad Sign for Europe

Former national champions won’t escape the need to restructure as technology advances. Belgium’s Proximus hasn’t.

January 10, 2019 at 1:02 PM UTC

Alex Webb is a correspondent for Bloomberg Quicktake. He previously covered the technology, telecoms and media industries in London, San Francisco and Munich.

Change is coming.
Photographer: James Arthur Gekiere/AFP/Getty Images

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In Flemish, they call it a “Graadmeter.” In English, it’s a bellwether.

Either way, it’s applicable to the layoffs announced today by Proximus SA. The former Belgian telecom monopoly is cutting about 6 percent of its workforce as it accelerates the “digitalization” of its business (though its statement does little to explain exactly what that means).