Canadian telecommunications firm Telus (T) is offering buyout packages to hundreds of employees weeks after reporting that its first-quarter profit declined 44% from a year earlier.
Telus reported a Q1 profit of $217 million or $0.15 per share, down 44% from $385 million or $0.28 per share a year earlier.
The company said its revenue in the quarter ended March 31 totaled $4.96 billion, up 16% from $4.28 billion in the first three months of 2022.
Analysts had expected a profit of $0.26 per share and $4.90 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv data.
Telus blamed the profit decline on restructuring and other costs.
Now, the Vancouver-based company is offering buyouts to staff and expects that hundreds of people will accept the offer. The exact number of buyout packages has not been disclosed.
Telus added that it has the right to limit how many buyout packages are ultimately given out to employees.
Telus, which had more than 100,000 workers at the end of 2022, also recently raised its quarterly dividend payment to stockholders by 4% despite the Q1 profit decline.
Telus’ stock has declined 13% in the last 12 months to trade at $27.38 per share.
