Long distance phone provider TeleBermuda International Ltd. (TBI) has laid off or made redundant nine staff or 23 percent of its workforce as a result of the economic downturn and a change in its business model.

Gregory Swan, president and chief operating officer of TBI, who confirmed the departures yesterday, said that a significant proportion of the total number of employees let go were Bermudians. The company had a staffbase of 38 prior to the cuts.

He said the company was undergoing a period of corporate restructuring to better meet the needs of its clients.

Last month The Royal Gazette reported that Bermuda Telephone Company was looking to cut its workforce by about 25 employees – or more than 12 percent – in a bid to reduce costs and restructure its business, and Cable & Wireless also made eight of its workers redundant.

"It is primarily because of the economic downturn and it is a net effect of the same experiences that the telecommunications companies were having during the last year or so," said Mr. Swan.

"Obviously we have refrained from making any changes up until now and I believe we are the last ones to actually have a work force adjustment.

"There has been a movement away from the traditional voice services that, combined with the net effect of the global economic conditions, has resulted in us having to make some operating adjustments.

"We did offer our employees what we considered to be packages that were over and above the expectations of legal requirements."