Optus to close Virgin Mobile Australia

Leading Australian telecommunications company Optus has announced that it will begin to phase out its subsidiary Virgin Mobile Australia over the course of the next two years.

The closure comes 18 years after the initial launch of Virgin Mobile Australia as a joint venture between Virgin Mobile UK and Optus in 2000, where Optus then purchased Virgin’s stake for $30mn in 2006.

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The shutdown of the division will see 36 stores closed and more than 200 positions cut as the company attempts to move all of its Virgin Mobile customers directly onto Optus, keeping them under the company’s umbrella.

“For Virgin Mobile employees, our policy is always to talk to those who may be impacted by these changes first,” an Optus spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“Any potential options for redeployment within the wider Optus business will be discussed with affected individuals at that time.”

The news comes as Optus has received a $1.5mn fine after a series of issues with the national broadband network (NBN), where Optus provided incorrect information about the service options to its customers.