Yellow Pages, the former Telecom directory company whose lenders seized control in 2010, will cut about 35 jobs and separate out its print unit to focus on digital growth.
Splitting the print and digital units will allow the directories business to better meet customer needs, chief executive Chris Armistead said in a statement. New units will develop digital marketing products and third-party partnerships, he said.
The job losses, from a total staff of about 500, are mostly from the Auckland sales team, with some in the regions and in corporate services, he said.
The changes are part of a three-year transformation plan, Armistead said.
Yellow Pages posted a $78 million loss last year on writedowns that wiped out its remaining goodwill. In 2010 Yellow Pages' lenders took control after its private equity owners saddled it with too much debt on buying the business from Telecom three years earlier for $2.24 billion in a leveraged buy-out.
