Vodafone to axe further 375 jobs

Telecoms company Vodafone has announced plans to cut a further 375 jobs as part of its £1 billion cost-cutting programme, undertaken last year by the company as a result of a sharp decline in revenues from its core UK market.

The company, which is the world’s largest mobile phone operator, said the job losses would mainly affect back office positions in a number of sites, including its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire.

However, the group highlighted that it plans to recruit 170 new staff in retail and call-centre roles, while a further 50 graduates will join the company this September.

Matthew Brearley, human resources director at Vodafone UK, comments: “We’re committed to increasing the number of customer-facing employees which will help us simplify our business and continue to deliver outstanding communications services across the UK’s best network.”

The company, like many other mobile phone operators, was hit badly during the recession and a fall in sales resulted in hundreds of job losses.

Vodafone, which was once a major player within the UK phone market, could lose market share following the proposed merger of rivals Orange and T-Mobile, which will create the UK‘s largest mobile phone network.

However, the proposed merger between the two mobile phone giants is set to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The OFT said the merger “threatens significantly to affect competition in mobile telecommunications in the UK”.

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