The Bermuda Telephone Company (BTC) has released seven more employees as part of its continued shift in strategy, coming on top of the 25 staff the company made redundant last year, The Royal Gazette can reveal.A BTC spokeswoman said yesterday that the seven staff let go were part of approximately 20 positions which were eliminated over the past year as announced by the company at the end of March 2010 when it made the first round of redundancies.BTC accepted three voluntary separations and made four positions redundant last week. Management and line staff were among the redundancies and the voluntary separations were across the board.In 2010, BTC developed and presented a road map for the company to its workers highlighting the declines in fixed/landline business and the opportunities in data communications, corresponding to a major shift in the strategic direction of the company resulting in redundancies in positions associated with voice and related services and a commitment to growth in data-related technologies and services.“The company initially asked staff to consider voluntary separation,” said a company spokeswoman. “A number of persons came forward and together with management, leaving dates were arranged.“At the end of that same fiscal year (ending March 31, 2011) the company accepted three more voluntary separations and made four positions redundant.”In November 2009, the company made 20 positions redundant as part of its restructuring process as a result of the impact of the economic downturn and increased competition. Five years earlier the telephone service provider announced it would be cutting an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a company reorganisation to boost efficiency levels and in 2003 BTC axed four long distance operators as it outsourced operations overseas.The redundancies follow a string of lay-offs across the Island in recent months, with Butterfield Bank laying off 25 employees last week, law firms Appleby and Conyers Dill & Pearman cutting 11 and 13 jobs respectively at the start of the year.Ace Ltd revealed plans in December 2010 to cut 17 jobs from its Bermuda workforce this year, while HomeZone closed in April 2010, with 14 employees affected, as a result of the economic downturn.Fund administrator Butterfield Fulcrum axed 10 staff from its Bermuda office in August last year following a review of the distribution of work at its operational centres. At the end of last year Bermuda Press Ltd let go of 14 people due to a restructuring of operations and three jobs were made redundant at Furniture Flair following a change of ownership. Furniture Walk also laid off five of its staff over the past nine months due to the recession.