Ooredoo in Kuwait announced that, as a result of its increased focus on enabling business efficiency and improving how the company can serve customers more effectively, it needs to simplify its organization and resourcing.

Ooredoo stated that as part of this restructuring, it has ended the service of 165 employees of different nationalities, 60 of them Kuwaitis. Ooredoo Kuwait will support those affected by this transition in accordance with the Kuwait private sector labor law, and will also provide additional monetary and service benefits.

The job losses account for about 15 percent of its workforce. According to the company’s 2012 annual report – the latest available – the company employed 1,082 people. The company is 92.1 percent owned by Qatar’s Ooredoo. There were several Twitter posts from people in Kuwait reacting negatively to the news.

Ooredoo’s operations in Kuwait date back to December 1999 when it launched wireless services as the second operator. The company today provides mobile, broadband internet and corporate managed services tailored to the needs of customers and businesses.