Telefonica and unions plan to extend the operator's job reduction plan by two years. The revised plan will lead to redundancies rising by an additional 2,500, Reuters reports, citing two sources familiar with the plan. Telefonica plans to extend the cuts over five years, and increase the number of redundancies in Spain to an overall 8,500 employees. Unions have agreed to the extended timeframe, but not yet to the increased redundancies, one of the sources said. Unions had rejected Telefonica's initial plan to cut its Spanish staff by 20 percent, or 6,000 employees, in the next three years. The new proposal would affect 25 percent of the company's staff in Spain. The plan is expected to be formally presented to the Labour Ministry on 26 May.
