Zegona has made good forecasts and will study a plan for “selective layoffs” to reduce personnel spending at Vodafone Spain, once it consumes the purchase of the subsidiary of the British operator. “We are considering creating a selective layoff plan to reduce personnel costs,” the company says in the report sent to the market to request a return to listing and in which it details the roadmap.
In the extensive document, where it details its roadmap, the investment fund mentions on numerous occasions the high cost of staffwhich was 7.1% of revenues in the last fiscal year (ended in March 2023, 16% higher than that of Euskaltel, the operator of which Zegona was the majority shareholder until MásMóvil’s takeover bid).
The entity also repeatedly compares Vodafone with this second operator. Among the risks of the operation, the group’s management points to the “high cost structure” of the acquired company and gives as an example that, While Vodafone Spain has 4,000 employees, MásMóvil has 2,400.
Likewise, the writing also includes the presence of unions and a collective agreement that “reduces flexibility” to the operations in this list of risks for the operation. “In addition, any restructuring or reorganization measure that Vodafone Spain manages to carry out can strain relations with employees and their representatives,” he points out. Zegona in the brochure.
In a press conference called after closing the agreement to purchase Vodafone, the president of Zegona, Eamonn O’Hare, tried to downplay the possibility of this workforce adjustment by ensuring that they did not want to take “quick profitability” measures and prioritized other savings aspects. However, the group had already indicated that it perceives that there is too much bureaucracy and the need for a “more entrepreneurial” mentality on the part of employees.