Telefonica will cut one in three employees in Spain

2023-12-04 15:59:00

Telefonica will seriously downsize in Spain. In total, management wants to get rid of almost one position in three, that is to say 5,100 employees out of 16,500, indicates theAFP citing consistent sources. Telefonica is not its first attempt: in recent years, it has already eliminated tens of thousands of jobs. These staff cuts will affect all of the company’s activities. They will be implemented gradually, between now and 2026.

Questioned by theAFPmanagement believes that these “adjustments” are necessary in order to “to adapt” and of « transformer » the company to “the digital age”. Management, however, did not wish to confirm the extent of these deletions.

Good results

This cost reduction policy comes in a context where management wishes to drastically reduce its debt, which still stands at 27.5 billion euros. In addition, the group has been facing, for years, very strong competition in Spain, and a fierce price war. The historic operator also fears a possible merger between its rivals Orange Spain and MasMovil, which might create a competitor capable of competing with it.

However, these job reductions come at a time when the company’s results are improving. At the beginning of the month, the operator reported a solid third quarter, marked by a stabilization of sales, and above all a sharp increase in profit, to more than 500 million euros. José Maria Alvarez-Pallete, CEO of Telefonica, welcomed this. Management has also committed to paying a dividend of at least 0.30 euros per share to its shareholders until 2026. This, without a doubt, will fuel the anger of the unions.

(with AFP)