MILAN (Reuters) - Vodafone (LON:VOD) said on Monday it plans to shed 1,000 jobs in Italy -- almost a fifth of its total workforce in the country -- confirming what unions had told Reuters last week.
Two union officials had told Reuters that the British telecoms giant was looking to slim down its Italian unit as part of a larger cost saving plan.
Vodafone Italia said in a statement it is looking to cut 1,000 jobs after a fall in revenues and margins resulting from "extraordinary competitive pressure" in the telecoms sector.
The company shared the news in a meeting with unions in which it informed them of the need for a "radical simplification" of operations.
As of last March, Vodafone's workforce in Italy totalled 5,765 employees, according to the group's latest annual report.