Telefónica announcement triggers unwelcome pre-Xmas uncertainty

Telefonica UK December 19 2019

Close tabs are being kept on developments in Telefónica following a major business strategy announcement by senior management last week which indicated that headcount reductions will be sought across most of the company’s business areas early in the New Year.

The key message relayed to staff in the ‘directorates’ affected was that the company ‘needs to evolve’ to reach its goal of being the number one UK mobile network, and that it needs to work in new ways to deliver more for customers in an increasingly competitive sector where customer needs are changing.

Amid concerning but unquantified indications that this will require headcount reductions in some areas, the CWU has already served notice that any reductions other than by voluntary means would not be acceptable to the union.

Assistant secretary Sally Bridge insists, however, that until the scale and location of any headcount reductions being sought by different Telefónica directorates are clarified, it is impossible for the CWU to assess the seriousness of any challenge that might or might not lie ahead.

“Above everything we’re impressing on management the need to flesh out their proposals in advance of the formal consultation we’ve been informed will open in the New Year – and we’ll be updating members and branches as soon as we have those details,” she concludes.