British telecom group Vodafone announced 11,000 job cuts over three years as part of a restructuring plan after a performance judged "not good enough" by new chief executive Margherita Della Valle. The manager said she wanted to "simplify the organization to recover competitiveness. The results for the financial year 2022/2023 recorded revenues of 45.7 billion euros, an increase of 0.3%, compared to 45.6 billion euros in 2022, thanks to growth in Africa and the increase in equipment sales, offset by lower service revenues in Europe and unfavorable exchange rate movements.

"Today I announce my plans for Vodafone - said the CEO presenting the 2023 accounts -. Our performance was not good enough. For a consistent result, Vodafone must change" and continued "my priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organization, eliminating complexity to regain our competitiveness. We will reallocate resources to deliver the quality service our customers expect and push the next step in growth from Vodafone Business' unique position."

But the action plan envisages "11,000 planned role reductions in three years, with simplification of both headquarters and local markets". To grow instead "a recovery plan in Germany, continuous price action and strategic review in Spain". "We will change the level of ambition, speed and decisiveness of execution. We will have enhanced customer-focused markets, expand Vodafone Business and eliminate complexity to simplify the way we operate."

The three-year plan starts from the analysis of telecommunications in Europe and immediately touches the sensitive key of return for shareholders: "The European telecommunications sector has among the lowest ROCE (return on invested capital, ed) in Europe, next to the highest required investment capital" with an impact on shareholder returns. But for Vodafone, explains Della Valle, "performance has deteriorated over time" and this is linked to the customer experience, with differences between countries. "We have to overcome some obvious challenges. We are more complex than we need to be, which limits our local business agility", adds the CEO and sets his strategy on four lines. "We will rebalance our organization to maximise the potential of Vodafone Business, which continues to accelerate growth; To win in our consumer markets, we will refocus on the basics and provide the simple and predictable experience our customers expect; We will be a leaner and simpler organization and focus our resources on a portfolio of products and geographies that is right-sized for growth and returns over time."

Della Valle was confirmed as CEO in early May after a five-month interim basis. His predecessor Nick Read stepped down in early December after a four-year term marked by a sharp drop in the company's share price. He left office when Vodafone was in talks to merge its UK operations with rival Three UK, owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison. According to media reports, a deal worth £15 billion ($18.7 billion) is close to completion.

In the note in which it announced cuts for 11 thousand jobs, the group also reports that the capital gains from the sale of Vantage Towers went to support a significant increase in operating profit and basic earnings per share

As for Vodafone Italy, it closed the 2023 fiscal year with revenues from services at 4,251 million euros, with a decrease of 2.9% "due to the continuing pressure on prices in the mobile segment, partially offset by the strong demand for fixed connectivity Business and innovative services for companies, with a good adherence to the Voucher plan".

Vodafone Italy'stotal revenues fell by 4.2% to €4.8 billion. Mobile services revenue decreased by 5.4% and, explains a message, "price competition in the mobile segment remained intense, resulting in a lower active prepaid customer base and lower ARPU". "This - underlines the note - was partially offset by targeted price actions undertaken during the year".