Letter: Balancing jobs and technology at BT
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir: I do not know what I said that gave you the impression that I have a 'chillingly arrogant' attitude towards staff leaving BT, as part of the down-sizing programme ('Luddite fears old and new', 14 May).
As one who has spent his whole career in BT and its predecessor, as did my parents, it is, of course, a matter of great concern to me that our particular part of the telecommunications industry cannot sustain employment at the levels of previous years. But I have also learnt that it is more Canute-like than Luddite to try to maintain jobs where technology has made them redundant; and that in the end it is not only customers, but also the industries and people who work in them who suffer as a result.
In those circumstances the responsibilities of management are to ensure that the process is as painless and supportive as possible.
All our job reductions in the year were voluntary. The package we offered was widely seen as generous - too generous according to some commentators. Indeed, more people applied for the package than our original target, so we adjusted that target upwards to help meet the demand. We also provided a range of support services, including counselling, outplacement advice and an innovative arrangement that guaranteed a certain number of days of employment to smooth their transition to self-employment or another job.
Just as significant, however, was another point I made many times yesterday, which actually supports your main argument. A number of those people leaving BT have had the opportunity to join other participants in this fast-expanding and competitive industry - an option that simply did not exist in years gone by.
And of course, although numbers in BT's traditional core business will continue to decline, we would expect to create new jobs as we develop the UK's telecommunications platform for the burgeoning information-based industries, which look set to provide the best prospects of economic growth for the century to come.
Yours faithfully,
IAIN VALLANCE
Chairman, British Telecom
London, EC1
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