Vodafone is laying off 11,000 workers over the next three years in order to cut costs and improve its financial performance, according to ex-CEO Margherita Della Valle.
Valle stated:
The circumstances of our industry and the position of Vodafone within it require us to change. We need to take out complexity and simplify how we operate.
Company also reported that its group revenue was $50 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, almost unchanged from the previous year.
“Our performance has not been good enough,” Della Valle added.
Vodafone’s Poor Performance in Germany
When she was appointed CEO permanently in January, she was given the task of turning around Vodafone, with the goal of cutting costs by $1.1 billion by 2026.
“My priorities are customers, simplicity, and growth,” she said.
Company has already begun to lay off workers in major markets, laying off 1,000 in Italy this year and laying off around 1,300 in Germany, according to media reports. Della Vall stated that Germany, Vodafone’s largest market, was underperforming.
She stated that the group’s Spanish operations were being reviewed strategically, and that “structural change,” implying a full or partial sale, was being considered.
The job cuts announced on Tuesday are the most significant in company’s history, as the company employed more than 100,000 people across Europe and Africa at the end of last year.
To read our blog on “Vodafone and Google Cloud are attempting to spice up Europe’s 5G net,” click here