(Reuters) – Spanish telecoms group Telefonica will lay off more than 3,400 people by 2025 to reduce costs and adapt the company’s size to the current market, the country’s largest trade union UGT said on Thursday.
The layoffs will mostly occur in late February 2024, UGT added.
Labour groups said earlier in December that the firm was seeking to cut around 5,000 jobs, but after weeks of negotiations, the number has been reduced.
Spain’s largest telecom employs about 21,000 people in its home country, while the global workforce exceeds 103,000.
A Telefonica spokesperson declined to comment.
Unions are also negotiating a collective bargaining agreement to improve working conditions, with another meeting scheduled for later on Thursday.
The layoffs are part of the company’s three-year strategic plan to boost profitability by reducing capital expenditure, raising revenue and cutting costs.
(Reporting by Matteo Allievi, editing by David Latona, Kirsten Donovan)
