Telefonica to Spend EUR1.6 Billion on Staff Program, Reduce Workforce
September 10 2019 - 1:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Kim Richters and Pietro Lombardi
Telefonica SA (TEF.MC) said Tuesday that it plans a 1.6 billion
euro ($1.77 billion) staffing overhaul aimed at reducing its
workforce and helping the Spanish telecoms company save on costs in
Spain.
The plan, which the company's Spanish operation Telefonica
Espana will submit to trade unions, is aimed at adapting its
workforce "to the challenges of the coming years," with training
programs for staff as well as individual suspension offers for
employees over the age of 53.
Workers who decide to participate in the suspension plan
maintain a relationship with the company and receive a lower salary
until they can retire.
It is estimated that up to around 5,000 workers may meet the
requirement for the suspension plan, which is voluntary, a
spokeswoman for the company said. Roughly 6,000 employees could
participate in retraining.
The plan's specific conditions are subject to the development of
the negotiations with the trade unions on Wednesday.
The company said the plan will lead to the run rate of savings
in direct expenses of around EUR220 million from 2021.
Separately, Telefonica said it is considering measures to
monetize some of its infrastructure assets over the next 12 months,
with one option being to sell selected assets to its Telxius
subsidiary. Telefonica also said it would aim to create synergies
through potential sharing agreements with other local operators
.
Excluding Telxius, Telefonica owns about 50,000 sites, which
could generate estimated revenues of EUR830 million annually on a
pro forma basis. More than 60% of these sites are in Spain, U.K.,
Germany and Brazil, it said.
Write to Kim Richters at kim.richters@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 10, 2019 13:19 ET (17:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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