Telus Corp. (TSX:T) has stepped up its cost-cutting program, which has included shedding hundreds of jobs, and reduced its revenue and profit expectations due to the weak economy. The Vancouver-based telecom company said Thursday it spent $28 million on workforce restructuring in the first quarter, four times more than in the same quarter last year. It also hiked its full-year restructuring cost estimate to $125 million, from an earlier projection of $50 million to $75 million. That compares to restructuring costs of $59 million in 2008. Telus reduced its full-time-equivalent staff by 1,160 in the first quarter — cuts that chief executive Darren Entwistle said were needed to keep the company competitive while it increases investments in its network. “Driving internal efficiencies to help fund them is the responsible thing to do, in fact I would argue it’s a necessity,” Entwistle said after the company’s annual meeting in Ottawa.