Vodafone Group plantea un ERE para el 20% de la plantilla de VOIS en España

British telecommunications giant Vodafone Group has announced plans to implement a restructuring plan (ERE) that aims to reduce the workforce in its Spanish subsidiary, Vodafone Intelligent Solutions (VOIS), by around 20%. This would result in the loss of approximately 180 jobs from a total of 900 employees in Spain. The restructuring plan is not related to Vodafone Spain, which is owned by the British financial firm Zegona.

VOIS is an instrumental subsidiary of the British multinational, providing various horizontal services such as software engineering, networks, cybersecurity, cloud, infrastructure, IT operations, B2B business, customer care, strategic information, financial operations, human resources operations, safety operations, and supply chain management.

The company operates in 28 countries from its 10 locations, including Spain, Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ireland, with a network of facilities in the Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, and Portugal. VOIS employs over 30,000 people worldwide, with around 900 workers in Spain. The company's primary centers in Spain are located in Málaga and Valencia, with the former housing a major application development and research and development center, while Valencia hosts a specialized customer care center for remote sales and marketing support.

VOIS also has centers in Madrid and Barcelona, which provide horizontal services to the entire multinational. Málaga's center, known as the Vodafone Innovation Hub, was announced in 2022 as Vodafone's European Research and Development (I+D) hub, serving as the global center for designing and building digital solutions and technology services.

The company had planned to invest 225 million euros and create more than 600 new jobs. The UGT union has criticized the proposed reduction in workforce, stating that without analyzing the company's pre-sessional explanatory memorandum and technical report, it seems unnecessary and difficult to justify. The union demands that the measure be withdrawn or, if maintained, that the number of affected workers be minimized.

The union has pledged to approach the negotiation with rigor and good faith and, in case the collective dismissal proceeds, will seek the best possible conditions and economic compensations for the affected employees.