Spanish telecommunications group Telefónica plans to cut 5,100 jobs in Spain, roughly 24 per cent of its workforce in the country, over the next three years.
The cuts reflect the need to adjust “to the demanding process of transformation and adaptation required by the new digital era”, Telefónica said.
The lay-offs have been announced to the workers’ unions which will negotiate the terms of the plan with the company.
The cuts will affect three units: Telefónica de España, Telefónica Móviles Spain, and Telefónica Soluciones, which employ 16,500 of the approximately 21,000 people who work for Telefónica in Spain. The job cuts were first confirmed to Spanish media by the unions.
Telefónica says it has 103,000 workers globally. No job losses have been announced affecting other parts of the group.