Vodafone to slash hundreds of jobs

VODAFONE will slash hundreds of UK jobs as it desperately tries to save cash.

The telecoms giant will begin layoffs to its 9,400-strong UK workforce, with sources suggesting London would be a target.

The company, which employs about 104,000 globally, has come under increasing pressure to simplify the business and drive up the beleaguered share price, which has plunged nearly 60pc in the past five years. Activist investor Cevian Capital was particularly critical of Vodafone’s business model and the lack of deals in weaker markets like Spain and Italy. In November, Vodafone announced it would cut £887m of costs by 2026 following a profit slump in the first half of the year.

Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight, reckons it will be a ‘bruising few quarters’ for telecoms firms, who are following the same pattern as tech firms with job cuts.