Biznextindia : British telecom giant Vodafone announced on Tuesday that it would cut over 11,000 jobs in the next three years as part of a restructuring plan aimed at making the company leaner and more agile.
The job cuts, which represent about 5% of Vodafone’s global workforce, come as the company faces increasing competition from rivals such as Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica. Vodafone’s new CEO, Margherita Della Valle, said the restructuring was necessary to “consistently deliver” and to “regain our competitiveness.”
“Our performance has not been good enough,” Della Valle said in a statement. “To win the consumers, we need to refocus on the basics and deliver a simple and predictable experience.”
The restructuring plan will also see Vodafone simplify its operations and reduce its costs. The company said it would save £2 billion ($2.6 billion) by 2025 as a result of the changes.
Della Valle said she was confident that the restructuring would make Vodafone a stronger and more competitive company. “I am committed to leading Vodafone into a new era of growth,” she said.
The job cuts are the latest in a series of challenges for Vodafone. The company has been struggling to compete with rivals in Europe and has been hit by a number of regulatory issues. In 2019, Vodafone was fined £4.9 billion by the European Commission for overcharging customers for roaming data.
The restructuring plan is a major gamble for Della Valle, who took over as CEO in October 2022. The changes will be unpopular with some employees, but Della Valle is betting that they are necessary to make Vodafone a more successful company.
The company has announced an action plan focused around three priorities:
• Customers: Significant investment reallocated in FY24 towards customer experience and brand
• Simplicity: 11,000 role reductions planned over three years, with both HQ and local markets simplification
• Growth: Germany turnaround plan, continued pricing action and strategic review in Spain
We will change the level of ambition, speed and decisiveness of execution. We will have empowered markets focused