C&W communications, the parent company of Flow and C&W business will begin its staff rationalisation with a VSEP package.

Flow employs 700 people and staff learned of the initiative hours before a press release was issued on the matter.

Ian Serrao, Managing Director of Flow Trinidad said that “Like other companies operating in Trinidad we have had to find ways to respond to the contracting economy, increased competition and to ensure viability of our business in the current environment.”

Mr Serrao did not mention the staff rationalisation of duplicated functions that was an inevitable part of the merging of the operations of Columbus first with C&W when that merger was announced and then less than a year later, when the merged company was acquired by Liberty Communications.

Soon after both mergers, executive consolidation resulted in almost immediate and apparently amicable rationalisation of executives.

According to the release, Mr Serrao said that the company had embarked on a programme of cost reduction, but had made “the difficult decision” to reduce head count.

The company has said that “all” will be put in place to support employees who chose to transition out of the business, and the staff have two weeks after the formal notification of VSEP availability (July 19) to indicate their interest in the programme.

In an interview with Leah Sorias of the Trinidad Express, Trudy De Verteiul, Director of Communicaitons and Stakeholder Relations for Flow Trinidad, explained that the company would also be closing its head office at Victoria Square in Port of Spain to consolidate operations at at its Trincity Operating Centre.

On receipt of the press release announcing the VSEP programme, the following questions were sent to Ms De Verteiul from TechNewsTT through the company’s PR agency, Reputations Management.

Does the company have a planned headcount for the reductions?

Are specific areas being favoured for acceptance of VSEP?

What are the timelines for the implementation of the VSEP offers and how long will it remain open for consideration?

If the company does not meet its planned headcount reductions, what is the next move?

The company has not chosen to answer any of those questions.