Telecommunications giant Telefonica to lay off more than 3,400 employees in Spain

Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica announced on Wednesday January 3 that it had reached an agreement with unions to lay off up to 3,421 employees in Spain, as part of its efforts to reduce costs. The workforce reductions are expected to take place during the first quarter of 2024 and will mainly affect employees aged 56 or over in 2024 and who have been with the company for at least 15 years, Telefonica announced in a press release.

The former state monopoly estimates the layoffs plan will cost it around 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) before taxes and generate average annual savings of around 285 million euros from 2025.

“A digital transformation”

Spain’s largest telecommunications company employs around 16,500 people in its home country, while its global workforce exceeds 100,000 people. It is present in 12 countries, including Brazil, Great Britain and Germany.

Telefonica also announced on Wednesday that it had concluded a new collective agreement with the unions which runs until 2026 and can be extended for an additional year, “with the aim of evolving towards a company carrying out a digital transformation, more flexible and better prepared for future challenges in a highly competitive and profoundly transforming context.”