Telstra has said on Thursday that it is planning to slash 648 jobs from its Sensis business, which has recorded a major fall in its revenues in recent times.

Sensis business has recorded a fall in the demand for its White Pages and Yellow Pages directories and this has impacted the company's revenues in recent quarters. David Thodey, the head of Telstra had asserted that the company's focus towards Asia should not be seen as a move to shift jobs out of Australia to cheaper locations.

The job cuts will be at Yellow Pages, White Pages and the Trading Post, according to the company.

There are some suggestions that the company is looking to move several jobs to Asian locations in Melbourne and Sydney. Community and Public Sector Union national president Michael Tull described the job cut as distressing and pointed out that people working at call centre, back office, design work for the ads and printing work will be affected.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has expressed sympathy over the job cut and sought reassurances that the people would find work. He said that the jobs market for the skilled personnel is going through a difficult time at present. According to estimates, the unemployment level in the country is expected to rise from 5.4 per cent to around 5.6 per cent during 2013.