Community and Public Sector Union regional secretary Madeline Northam said Tasmanian Telstra workers were upset and angry that Telstra had announced it was slashing 8000 jobs across Australia.

“Our members are still in shock,” Ms Northam said.

“We had no idea this was coming and most of them found out as they were driving to work.

“We have been involved in enterprise bargaining negotiations but Telstra chose not to tell us they were getting rid of a quarter of their workforce.

“It will hit Tasmania hard with our call centre here and 70 to 100 jobs could be lost.”

Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union Tasmanian organiser Lisa Bahls said her union had no indication about how many workers would lose their jobs.

“Our members had a hook up with Telstra to ask questions but the line kept dropping out so they couldn’t get any answers,” Ms Bahls said.

“That says it all really.

“They are all quite stressed out because Telstra says they are forming a new company but we have no idea how that will work.”

Ms Bahls said she believed the changes were due to come in on July 1 and she feared workers transferring to a new company, known as InfraCo, could lose their entitlements.

“Our workers are struggling to get answers about their future and we are worried that this is an attack on workers’ rights and we are not sure if they will have their entitlements protected if they have to move to a new company,” she said.

Ms Northam said Tasmanians would be disadvantaged if Telstra closed call centres and moved to online only inquiries.

“We want to maintain the human element because not all Tasmanians are digitally literate, especially older people who want to be able to talk to a person,” she said.

Telstra says it will set up a fund to help its workers. 

Attorney-General Elise Archer said the government had no prior knowledge of the announcement before news broke on Wednesday morning.

“I know that the Premier has attempted to get in contact with Telstra today to find out the implications for Tasmania,” Ms Archer said.

“It's terribly concerning that there could be job losses here in Tasmania and we're trying to find out exactly how many jobs and Tasmanians might be affected.”