KARACHI: The Telenor Pakistan, a provider of telecommunication services, has decided to close down its 17 sales and service centres across the country within this month.

According to a press release, the move is in line with the company’s long-term plans and will affect staff working at its sales and service centres who have been offered a Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS) “to ensure that they are treated fairly and with respect”.

Under the VSS the company is offering a payout of up to seven gross salaries, including payment in lieu of the notice period, plus other benefits like medical allowances, in addition to annual bonus (2.25 salaries) and gratuity for the eligible employees.

However, the company’s management did not disclose the total number of people who would be affected by the closure of the sales and service centres.

The press statement said the company would now cater to the needs of its customers through a “robust customer servicing channel” comprising 289 franchise walk-in-centres and would further establish what it called “customer experience zones” in selected locations across the country.

According to data of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the total number of the company’s subscribers fluctuated over the years. In 2013-14 it had 36.57 million customers which fell to 31.49m in 2014-15 but climbed to 38m in 2015-16. By October 2016, the number of its subscribers had increased to 38.47m, which included 9.23m 3G customers.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2017