Telecommunications service provider, Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) will, by monthend begin phasing out its bill payment services at its 14 business offices across the island, cutting 450 staff in the process.

Offices at Manor Centre, Pavilion, East Parade, Carlton (47 Half-Way-Tree Road) and Sovereign Centre --- all in the Corporate Area will cease bill payments on February 27. The other nine business offices will continue to serve customers until May 31, 2004, the company says.

C&W says that for the foreseeable future it will continue to operate four business offices-two inNew Kingston (Knutsford Boulevard and Dominica Drive); Ocho Rios (Internet Jungle); Montego Bay (Church Street); and Mandeville (Leaders Plaza).

The imminent closure of its bill payment centres is a continuation of the outsourcing that C&W began a few years ago. The president, Gary Barrow said about two months ago that the outsourcing of the services would not only improve the company's operational efficiency, but also provide further business opportunities for external payment centres.

Currently, C&W bills can be paid at Paymaster Jamaica, Bill Express outlets, and at banks and building societies.

Over the past three years C&WJ has reduced its staff by some 1,000 - from 3,207 employees in March 2001 to the current staff complement of 2,200.

The reorganisation has come against the background of a liberalised telecoms market which has seen the entry of two cellular services providers - Digicel Jamaica, and Centennial, with Digicel taking over C&W as the largest of the three providers.

"In addition to the closure of the business offices, the new operational model involves the implementation of other efficiency improvement projects which, overall, will regrettably result in a reduction of approximately 450 in the company's headcount," said thecompany in a press statement this week.

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