The board of state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has reportedly approved the proposal to lay off over 54,000 employees. The final call on the matter is expected to be taken after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are over.

The BSNL board has approved three of ten suggestions put forth by a government expert panel, Deccan Herald reported. The approved suggestions include reduction in retirement age from the existing 60 years to 58 years, Voluntary Retirement Scheme for all employees aged 50 years or more, and fast-tracking allocation of 4G spectrums to BSNL, the daily reported.

The decision to cut down the retirement age and announce VRS package will see around 54,451 BSNL employees exiting the government-owned telco, the report said. This constitutes around 31 per cent of the 1.74 lakh-strong workforce of BSNL.