Italy: fresh restructuring at TIM (ex-Telecom Italia)

Faced with having to keep a lid on costs at a time when the sector is undergoing fierce competition and traditional business activities are in decline, TIM ( French mass media company Vivendi is TIM’s major shareholder) is implementing another new staff restructuring plan. In it are moves to combine technical unemployment and retraining for three quarters of the headcount, as well as provisions for more than 2,200 voluntary early retirements alongside more than 550 new hires in a bid to refresh the skills pool.