Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs as new boss says firm ‘not good enough’

Vodafone will axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years as the new chief executive sets out her plans to “simplify” the telecoms giant.

The cuts equal more than a tenth of its workforce and will affect its UK headquarters and other countries.

Margherita Della Valle, who is also Vodafone’s finance director, said its “performance has not been good enough”.

Vodafone has two headquarters in the UK, its head office in Reading and a group office in London’s Paddington.

The firm has already outlined plans to cut jobs in Germany and Italy.

Ms Della Valle, who was appointed as Vodafone’s new chief in January, said: “To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change.

“My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness.”

It announced the job cuts after reporting a small rise in full-year sales to €45.7bn (£39.7bn) and a fall in pre-tax profits.

It also forecast earnings would be “broadly flat” for the current financial year.

Vodafone’s former boss Nick Read stepped down in December amid concerns over the group’s performance.

He had unveiled plans to achieve around €1bn of cost savings at the telecoms firm and signalled that job cuts were likely.