Vodafone Spain to cut up to 1,200 jobs

Vodafone Spain has announced plans to cut up to 1,200 jobs, citing market conditions and efforts to move to a “more simplified organisational model”.

In a statement, Vodafone said that current market conditions are causing demand for services to grow exponentially while prices are not following suit.

“Close to 50% of gross additions are associated with ‘low and medium cost’ offers, which forces Vodafone to have a cost structure that can compete successfully in all segments,” said Vodafone. “This situation has already led to falls in revenues and EBITDA in the first half of the current year.”

In terms of organisation, Vodafone said that customers demand an agile, simple and immediate relationship with the company. This is leading it to look to a simplified model to strengthen coordination and synergies between the teams.

Vodafone will start a consultation period with workers’ representatives at the end of January, which will last for a month. It said it will seek the best possible agreement for both the employees and the company.

Announcing its fiscal first half results in November, Vodafone Spain said that its TV base declined by 98,000 customers in H1, thanks to the decision not invest in “unprofitable” rights to Champions League and La Liga football. Vodafone’s broadband base in Spain also fell by 118,000 over the same period.

The company admitted that its Spanish unit was been hit by discounted TV and football offerings launched by Telefónica/Movistar. Vodafone had 1.262 million Spanish TV customers at the end of September compared with 1.37 million a year earlier. However, its mobile contract base grew by 35,000 customers.