Dutch market leader KPN unveiled plans to simplify the business, accelerate digital transformation and drastically cut its operating expenses through measures including a reduction in staff costs.

In a statement ahead of a strategy presentation covering 2019 to 2021, the operator said it would implement a number of changes with a view to: switching to smart infrastructure; focusing on profitable growth segments; and accelerating “simplification and digitalisation” across the business.

The €350 million in savings KPN aims to achieve over the three year period will primarily come from increased automation within the business, specifically in IT and systems. This, it said, would result in a “state-of-the-art lean operating model”, but warned changes would reduce its total “labour-related” spend.

While introducing savings in legacy areas, the company said it would up investment in future-proof infrastructure, connecting 1 million customers to FTTH by the end of 2021 and deploying 5G across its mobile operation. It also plans to “simplify” its product offering and focus on converged services.

The operator has already made significant changes in a bid to modernise and slim the company. By September 2017, KPN said it had already cut 80 per cent of its product lines and 25 per cent of its IT systems to improve the flexibility and simplify the business.

KPN CEO Maximo Ibarra (pictured) said: “In recent years KPN has made good progress driving improved service quality, better customer satisfaction and material structural spend savings, building a stronger company. Yet our evolving landscape requires us to become more flexible, improve our time to market and bring innovation to our customers faster than ever.”