Broadband ISP TalkTalk UK has decided to restructure its business and they'll start by axing 580 jobs out of a 4,500 strong workforce. In addition its business focused division, Opal (Opal Telecom), will also be re-branded to TalkTalk Business.

The move is design to simplify how TalkTalk operates and cut back on unnecessary management intervention. It comes at a time when TalkTalk is under pressure from Ofcom over bad billing practices (here) and an investigation into whether or not the ISP mis-sold its fixed line phone services or switched consumers lines without their consent (here).


It's important to note that this kind of restructuring is perfectly normal for any large company, especially one that recently split from its parent firm ( The Carphone Warehouse ) and acquired another big ISP, Tiscali UK.

The good news is that customer support and service jobs should remain fairly well protected, although TalkTalk stopped short of promising that nobody in such a role would be out of a job. However business customers might be concerned about Opal taking on TalkTalk's name, which can be confusing and off-putting to some consumers.