Security guards walk past a screen displaying the logo of Spanish Telecom company Telefonica at its headquarters in Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Sergio Perez
MADRID, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) has reached an agreement with labour unions to cut some 15% of its domestic workforcevia voluntary redundancies in a plan estimated to cost it 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) this year, the telecoms group said on Tuesday.
The plan to cut around 2,700 jobs in an increasingly competitive market in early 2022will yield annual savings of more than 230 million euros from 2023, Telefonica said in a filing to the stock market regulator.
"The impact on cash flow generation will be positive in 2022 as will the booking of savings, since the employees will leave during the first quarter of 2022," the company said.
The programme, open to all those born in 1967 or earlier and with at least 15 years of employment at the company, will limit the percentage of departures from some areas, the company said.
Telefonica had initially intended to spare business units dedicated to cybersecurity, marketing and artificial intelligence, though unions opposed. The company intended at first to offer a package to about 1,800 workers.
The company is Europe's third-largest telecoms firm and employs 18,500 people in Spain. The redundancies follow similar moves by rivals Vodafone and Orange in recent months. read more
Globally, Telefonica employs nearly 114,000.
Telefonica has been grappling with intense competition in an increasingly low-cost Spanish market as well as pressure from investors at a time when it needs funds to finance 5G infrastructure.
($1 = 0.8826 euros)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.
The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.
The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.
Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.
Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.
Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
© 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved