UAE's Etisalat to cut 3% of staff

Etisalat will cut about three percent of its staff, aiming to reduce costs as it faces greater competition in domestic markets, the UAE telecoms operator said in remarks published on Saturday.

The United Arab Emirates market leader in the Gulf Arab country's telecoms sector will cut at least 300 of 10,460  jobs, the National said, citing Etisalat officials.                                          

Faiez Awadh, Etisalat's senior vice president of human resources told the paper the cuts would be "focused on  productivity, performance, age and redundancy factors." 

In the UAE, Etisalat faces rising competition from telecoms provider du, the country's second largest provider, with a market share of 37% at the end of August. Du's third quarter profits more than doubled last month on strong revenue growth, it said. 

Etisalat has been seeking access to high-growth Middle East and African markets, including Iraq and Sudan.                                           

It had been trying to buy a stake in Kuwaiti telecoms carrier Zain, but on Thursday lowered its bid to 40%, from 46 percent, for $12 billion from a consortium led by Kuwaiti construction and investment company, Kharafi Group.                                           

But shareholders outside the consortium and a Zain board member opposed the premium the Kharafi Group would earn from  the deal and moved to block it, potentially delaying the acquisition.

Etisalat's original offer, when included with treasury shares owned by Zain, would have given the UAE carrier a  controlling 51% stake.