Vodafone, the telecommunications giant, is set to reduce its workforce by 11,000 jobs, targeting positions in its Newbury, Berkshire headquarters as well as local markets.

In her inaugural results announcement as CEO Margherita Della Valle unveiled the significant job cuts, emphasising the necessity for radical transformation within the telecoms giant.

“Today I am announcing my plans for Vodafone. Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change. “My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth,” she said.

“We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness. We will reallocate resources to deliver the quality service our customers expect and drive further growth from the unique position of Vodafone Business,” she added.

By the conclusion of the previous year, Vodafone had a global workforce of 104,000 individuals. Della Valle expressed uncertainty regarding the specific number of UK positions that would be affected by the job reductions.

Vodafone's announcement follows a decline in its full-year earnings, which dropped by 1.3% to 14.7 billion euros, falling short of the initially projected range of 15-15.5 billion euros. 

The company attributed the decrease in earnings to increased energy costs and commercial underperformance in Germany. Furthermore, Vodafone anticipates a further decline in earnings next year, with expectations set at 13.3 billion euros.

Vodafone recently revealed that the CEO of a telecoms business owned by the United Arab Emirates government will be joining its board. This announcement coincided with a new agreement aimed at strengthening the partnership between the two companies.

Hatem Dowidar, the CEO of e&, a telecoms company majority-owned by the UAE sovereign wealth fund, will be appointed as a non-executive director at Vodafone. 

This move aims to foster collaboration between the two companies in areas such as procurement, technology development, and the joint provision of telecoms services.

After acquiring a 10% stake in Vodafone last year, E& has further increased its shareholding to 14.6%. As part of the agreement, e& has the option to raise its stake to 25% and will be granted the opportunity to appoint an additional executive to the board if its ownership surpasses 20%.