Spanish telco Telefónica is considering laying off between 4,000-5,000 members of staff.
Spanish publication El Confidencial reported the potential job cuts this week, as the carrier seeks to drive efficiencies in its home market.
The company has reduced its overall headcount by 20,000 over the past decade, with most of the cuts made in Spain.
Current CEO Marc Murtra has only been in charge of the company for a few months, but looks set to follow on from his predecessor in reducing the overall workforce.
In January of last year, the carrier cut 3,421 jobs after it reached an agreement with unions. At the time, Telefónica said it expects the average annual savings from direct expenses will be around €285 million ($320m) from 2025.
The operator had initially planned to cut as many as 5,100 jobs, before striking a deal with the unions.
El Confidencial reports that the new cuts are expected to be similar to previous layoffs, impacting employees aged 55 or over and with long service at the company being offered a voluntary redundancy package.
Globally the operator employs more than 100,000 people across Spain, Brazil, Germany, and the UK.
Murtra is currently carrying out a strategic review at the company. This centers around five key principles; changes in Europe, ensuring customers are the center of everything, technology, and operational excellence as the pillars of Telefónica’s business, the company acting with disciplined industrial logic, and the creation of value for customers, employees, and shareholders.
The review has prompted Liberty Global to put on hold plans to find investors for Virgin Media's O2 fixed NetCo in the UK. Both Liberty Global and Telefónica own a 50 percent stake in Virgin Media O2, a telco formed as a merger between Virgin Media and O2 in 2021.
