Telefonica Deutschland has unveiled the key parameters for the integration of E-Plus, including 1,600 job cuts by 2018 out of a total of 9,100 employees. The job cuts are part of the streamlining process to create synergies of more than EUR 5 billion for its takeover of E-Plus. Most of the job cuts are due to duplicate functions that need to be abolished.
Telefonica Deutschland said it intends to implement a severance pay scheme for employees leaving the company and strives to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible. The supervisory board and the works council have been informed about the planned measures, which are subject to approval by the supervisory board. The company will now continue negotiations with the works council. The two sides agreed to conduct these negotiations in a spirit of partnership.
The job reductions will not differentiate between the old Telefonica Deutschland and the former E-Plus Group. As already announced, E-Plus' Duesseldorf site will continue to have an important role in the company, besides Telefonica's registered head office in Munich. Hamburg will continue to be the major location among others for the fixed-line business of Telefonica Deutschland.
German union Ver.di said it was concerned by media reports suggesting the number of job cuts and relocations were higher than what could be expected by the already slim structures at the two operators. It warned that customer service could suffer as a result, as remaining staff are left with a higher workload and increased suffer. The union said extra customer service was needed, to assist in the transition of E-Plus customers to Telefonica.
