740 Salmat jobs at risk but printing secure as Telstra pulls contract

Salmat has stressed it is business as usual for any printing work with major customer Telstra following fallout after the telco pulled its call centre contract, putting 740 jobs at risk.

Salmat announced the loss of Telstra 's call centre business on Monday 7 March via a statement to the ASX. It is expected to wipe $4m-$5m off earnings.

Some 742 jobs at call centres including Wagga Wagga, Geelong and Bundaberg have been placed at risk. Reports in mainstream media indicate the jobs could be moved offshore.

Beyond the call centre contract, Salmat also has deep ties to Telstra across its other business units, particularly the BPO division, which produces statements for the telco.

Salmat head of external affairs Josh Faulks told ProPrint that the call centre work was "independent and in isolation from other contracts" that the communication company holds with Telstra.

"We have a healthy relationship with Telstra across many parts of the business," he said, adding that Salmat would not go into specifics into which parts of the business or value of those contracts.

"Salmat operates in the contract business with wins and losses all the time and we deal with many providers. Telstra is just one of them."

Telstra is a large customer of Salmat's business colour and transactional portfolio, which was recently upgraded with Australia's first two Océ JetStream 2200 machines.

According to Salmat's website: "Salmat has provided bill printing and distribution services to Telstra since 1989 and has played an integral role in many of Telstra's new billing developments."

The telco is also a supplier of telephony services to Salmat.