Zegona Communications-owned Vodafone Spain announced plans to cut up to 1,198 jobs less than a month after being acquired, a move deemed necessary to guarantee the viability and competitiveness of the business moving forward.

Spanish newspaper el Economista pinned the figure at representing over a third of the operator’s staff should the total number be let go.

In a statement Vodafone Spain added it planned to hold a consultation process with employees who could be potentially impacted.

It highlighted management were approaching the process with a “responsible attitude,” willingness to talk and “a desire to reach the best possible agreement for all concerned”.

The operator blamed the decision on economic, production and organisational factors, pointing to “the significant financial and commercial deterioration endured by the company” in recent times.

Total revenue at the unit has fallen 8 per cent over the last two years, with around 400,000 contract customers lost in that time, it explained.

The company added there was an “urgent need to carry out an organisational and operational overhaul,” with a desire to resize the company to “adapt to the new market reality and recover competitiveness”.

Prior to being sold to Zegona a string of Vodafone chiefs bemoaned market conditions in Spain over the course of more than five years, and made several rounds of cuts.

The operator is the third largest in the country with 14.2 million connections, behind leader Orange (17.9 million) and Telefonica (16 million), according to Q1 2024 GSMA Intelligence numbers.