Telefónica is to cut up to 5,500 jobs in Spain under a voluntary departure plan agreed with trade unions last week, the debt-laden telecoms firm said in a statement on Monday.
The figure represents nearly 25% of the company’s workforce in Spain, based on a Telefónica count given last year of 25,000 employees in the country.
Worldwide, Telefonica employs 100,000 people.
Last month, it announced a new, five-year strategic plan that will see it focus on its main markets of Spain, Germany, the UK and Brazil as well as restructure many of its operations.
It then began talks with Spanish trade unions about reducing jobs.
The statement began: ‘Telefónica takes a decisive step in the execution of its Transform & Grow Strategic Plan after signing with the trade unions the extension or renewal of collective bargaining and the implementation of disengagement plans in seven companies of the Group in Spain, reinforcing its progress towards a more digital, flexible company prepared to compete and grow in an environment of profound sector transformation.’
It went on to say that ‘an agreement was reached with the trade unions … concerning the implementation of a voluntary departure plan for approximately 5,500 workers’.
It estimated the cost of the plan at around 2.5 billion euros before taxes.
‘Average annual savings in direct costs are estimated at around 600 million euros from 2028 onwards,’ it said. ‘Broken down, annual savings are expected to be approximately 500 million euros in Telefónica España and Movistar Plus+ and around 60 million euros in Corporate Units.’
The company booked a net loss of 1.08 billion euros between January and September 2025, weighed down by losses linked to asset sales in Latin America.
Telefónica has also said it will cut its dividend by half next year, to 15 cents per share, as part of effort to reduce its debt.
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Telefónica ha firmado hoy los ERE de siete filiales con todos los sindicatos. La multinacional ha reducido en más de un 25% el número de trabajadores afectados, un total de 4.500 empleados.
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) December 22, 2025
🎙️@ana_rtve
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