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The company said that the programme will necessitate the cutting of up to 60 jobs in both the Belfast and Dublin offices. Some of the company's capital expenditure programmes will be revised, it added.
Les Harris, chief executive officer of Nevada Tele.com, told ElectricNews.Net that the difficulties being experienced by the telecoms industry and the failure to find new funding sources in the current climate meant that cutbacks had to be made. "The circumstances have allowed it to happen without being a mortal blow to the company," he said.
He said that following an extensive telecoms investment in infrastructure both the North and the Republic, the company had decided to take advantage of government initiatives to invest in the development of a countrywide broadband network. It had previously budgeted to construct an all-Ireland network but that now it would concentrate on utilising its existing assets for the next two or three years. "We are going to concentrate of making the most of the assets we have," he said.
Harris confirmed that the company had been seeking new funding options since the middle of last year but that such funding was difficult to find in the current economic climate. The recent financial problems at UK firm Energis, which owns a 50 percent stake in the company, had also prompted Nevada to look for more investment, he said.
"It's symptomatic of the state of capital markets at the moment. The cost of capital has increased hugely over the last 18 months." Harris said the company will continue to seek to look at all options for new funding and will work with current shareholders to achieve this.
"All these changes have a common goal, that is to strengthen the company, improve services to our customers and bring forward the date when Nevada can fund its operations entirely from its own resources," he said.
The company, established in 1999 as a 50/50 joint venture between Viridian (formerly Northern Ireland Electricity), and Energis a firm spun off by the National Grid in Britain. It provides telecoms and Internet services to corporate clients and employs about 180 people in Ireland. Nevada moved into the Republic of Ireland telecoms market in mid 2000 following its STG46 million purchase of Stentor.
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