Vodafone shares drop 4% after record 11,000 jobs cut as CEO says telco ‘must change’

Vodafone shares fell as much as 4% on Tuesday, after the British telecommunications firm announced plans to slash a record number of jobs and forecast flat profit growth.

“Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change,” recently appointed CEO Margherita Della Valle said in a candid statement on Tuesday.

Vodafone said it would cut 11,000 jobs over three years, out of a total headcount of just over 100,000. That is the largest round of reductions made in the company’s history, Reuters reported.

“My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness. We will reallocate resources to deliver the quality service our customers expect and drive further growth from the unique position of Vodafone Business,” Della Valle said.

Vodafone reported 45.7 billion euros ($49.7 billion) in revenues for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, roughly unchanged versus the previous year.

But it issued a pessimistic guidance for the fiscal year ending March 2024, saying free cash flow would fall to 3.3 billion euros, versus 4.8 billion euros the year before. Free cash flow is a measure of how much cash a company has left after paying operating expenses and other expenditures.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for more.