Taiwan Mobile plans to add 1,000 jobs

RAPID EXPANSION:
The telecom urged the approval of its bid to take over Taiwan Star, a move that would give the firm control over more bandwidth than currently allowed

• By Lisa Wang / Staff Reporter

Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) is to recruit about 1,000 new workers, the company said yesterday as it announced measures to adapt to new requirements amid a rapid business expansion.

As Taiwan Mobile aims to transform itself into a technology-oriented company, it is planning to recruit data analysts, software engineers, security-related engineers and customer services staff, the firm said.

“This year is an important year for Taiwan Mobile as it is entering the second-stage transformation,” Taiwan Mobile president Jamie Lin (林之晨) told a news conference headlined by the introduction of new managers. “Talent is key to success in transformation efforts.”

Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times

The new executives include Tim Lee (李廷峰), vice president of the firm’s corporate development office; chief information officer Rock Tsai (蔡祈岩); chief data officer Eddie Chan (詹兆源); and chief financial officer George Chang (張家麒).

Taiwan Mobile is this year to raise employees’ wages steeper than in previous years amid rising inflation, which was 3.1 percent annually in the first eight months of this year.

The company is planning to raise workers’ wages 7 percent this year, surpassing the 5 percent increases by bigger rival Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), it said.

Taiwan Mobile also offers other benefits, including subsidized stock purchases for employees and a hybrid working mode, it added.

To accelerate its growth in its core telecom business, Taiwan Mobile called on regulators to approve its bid to acquire smaller rival Taiwan Star Corp (台灣之星) to expand its subscriber base and boost its 5G network capacity.

With the addition of Taiwan Star’s customers, Taiwan Mobile would have 9.8 million mobile subscribers.

The National Communications Commission is to hold two public hearings this month and next month to collect opinions about the planned deal.

The discussions would mostly focus on Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Star together holding 60 megahertz of Taiwan’s 1 gigahertz broadband bandwidth, surpassing the legal limit set by the government.

The deal was originally expected to be approved by the end of this month.

Taiwan Mobile expects to complete the merger within 12 months after the deal is closed. It expects to see an improvement in operating expenses within a quarter of the merger, as it would enable it to save on electricity and rent for base stations.