Telus is slashing its dividend by more than half after second-quarter results were weighed down by a large impairment charge, dragging it into a loss.

The Canadian telecom company on Friday said it was cutting its dividend by 55%, calling the move a reset, to put the money towards the company's debt repayments.

With the new dividend rate of 18.75 Canadian cents (13 U.S. cents) a share, Telus expects to generate about C$2.7 billion in cumulative cash savings through 2028.

What's more, the DRIP, or dividend reinvestment plan, discount will be terminated in October. The plan was a price incentive offered by Telus to shareholders participating in it whereby cash dividends are automatically used to buy additional shares, typically without broker commission fees, and sometimes at a discount to the market price.

Chief Executive Officer Victor Dodig said the company is responding to a macro environment that has shifted with three strategic priorities aimed at strengthening its financial foundation, sharpen operational focus and concentrate resources on new opportunities.

The dividend cut follows a wider loss in the second quarter. The company reported a net loss of C$1.83 billion, or C$1.17 a share, compared with a narrower loss of C$245 million, or C$0.00 a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

The decline was largely due to a C$2.1 billion accounting charge stemming from a reduction in the recoverable amount of the Telus Digital cash-generating unit.

Adjusted earnings were C$0.16 a share, below analyst forecasts that had been expecting C$0.20 a share, according to FactSet.

Operating revenues fell 3% to C$4.93 billion, missing forecasts of only a slight decline to C$5.05 billion.

The company added 17,000 new mobile subscribers to its network, and 20,000 internet users.