ActewAGL has confirmed it is reviewing jobs in its brand, communications and corporate affairs branch, with former branch head Paul Walshe saying staff are "devastated'' and he is "shocked'' by the number of job cuts he believes are being proposed.
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Staff have suggested as many of six of the 15 jobs in the section have been touted to go, although ActewAGL says it can't confirm numbers yet.
Mr Walshe, who retired on July 13 as ActewAGL's director of brand, communications and corporate affairs after almost 40 years with the company, said he knew a review of the section was underway while he was still in the job. But he was rocked by the talk of how many positions may go.
The review only became public on Tuesday night when Mr Walshe tweeted about the "devastating news'' and urged staff to stay strong.
ActewAGL has not released any details about any proposed cuts, saying only that consultation is now under way.
But Mr Walshe says staff have told him six of the 15 jobs in the section could be cut. Mr Walshe said he had no idea such job cuts were likely when he was at ActewAGL.
"I was aware of the review but I'm shocked by the number of positions that are being reduced and I feel for the staff because they're the ones who are devastated by this decision, but this is a decision the company has made,'' he said.
"My thoughts are more with the staff. I've been talking to them again today. I think they're shocked. They weren't expecting these kinds of cuts and I certainly wasn't expecting them as well.''
ActewAGL corporate affairs general manager Peter Holden would only say that a consultation period had started about changes to the branch.
"Consultation has commenced on proposed changes to the current brand, communications and corporate affairs branch for a period of two weeks following the provisions of our enterprise agreement. After all feedback received has been considered, a final structure will be confirmed and implemented,'' Mr Holden said, in a statement.
Mr Holden was asked if the job cuts were a means to save on costs, especially in the wake of rival company Origin Energy's aggressive play for ActewAGL customers.
"We are unable to confirm the impact on staff numbers until the end of the consultation period, which was initiated as a result of a process that has been underway for some time. It did not commence as a result of the recent competitor activity,'' he said.
Just before leaving ActewAGL, Mr Walshe spoke candidly about what he perceived as a changing culture in the organisation, one in which managers had "really lost compassion for our staff''.
Mr Walshe also believed he had been shunted out of his position because other managers felt he was past it and a "dinosaur''.
It's understood of the current 15 staff in the branch, eight staff and a manager will remain, under the ActewAGL plan.
That would be three people in the digital team, a specialist brand manager, specialist media manager, a communications officer for evoenergy and one also for the ActewAGL retail and an events and sponsorship officer, plus the manager.
Currently there are three people working in events and sponsorship. ActewAGL gives out about $1 million a year in sponsorship, from the Canberra Show to Red Nose to the Canberra Capitals.
Mr Walshe was known as a passionate advocate for sporting and community organisations in his role with ActewAGL. Now that he is gone, there are fears sponsorship will be cut back. But ActewAGL says there are no such plans.
"We are not reducing the sponsorship budget so there will be no impact to the community or sporting groups,'' Mr Holden said.
