Ihug sacking up to 10 after bank pressure to trim costs

By PETER GRIFFIN

Auckland-based internet company ihug is starting this year the same way it began the last, with staff layoffs.

Up to 10 key management redundancies are planned across the business, including ihug finance personnel, the customer help desk manager and domains administrator.

Senior business helpdesk staff and the company lawyer are also on the way out.

Human resources staff met individually with staff members last night to break the news, telling them that banks had been putting pressure on ihug to reduce its cost structure.

Among those likely to be made redundant include staff who have been at ihug for several years.

"The company can ill-afford to let these bright people with many years' experience go," said a company insider.

Ihug director Nick Wood confirmed that some jobs would go, but only where there were unnecessary and expensive duplications.

"In a lot of these cases the roles have been consolidated, there's no reason to have a standalone person."

A finance company ihug had set up to handle hardware sales was being wound down and the in-house lawyer would go as ihug began giving work to a law firm.

Roles such as domain administrator had been shared out among other staff, said Mr Wood.

"At the end of the day they could have gone a lot sooner, but obviously we try to hang on to staff where we can."

He said ihug was still hiring in some areas and had even picked up staff shed in the merger of Clear and TelstraSaturn.