Multiple media outlets in Australia reported Telstra was set to let go of 472 employees in a major round of job cuts, the first one to take place under CEO Vicki Brady’s leadership.

Newspapers in the country, including The Sydney Morning Herald, cited comments from the operator confirming the plan and describing the reductions as a “difficult” decision.

The Australian operator is said to have informed staff of the redundancies yesterday (19 July). The cuts amounted to around 1.5 per cent of Telstra’s 30,000-strong workforce.

Its move forms part of a broader strategy to drive growth at the company, dubbed the T25 plan, initially announced by former CEO Andy Penn.

The Market Herald reported Telstra previously pitched the strategy as a four-to-five-year plan to boost its value proposition and save costs of AUD500 million ($342 million) by 2025.

It followed the T22 strategy, announced in 2018, which was aimed to reduce costs by AUD1 billion via the elimination of 8,000 jobs by mid-2022.