Vodafone Germany plans to cut or move 2,300 jobs over the next two years
Key Facts
Vodafone Germany announced on 9 November 2026 that its workforce would shrink by about 2,300 jobs over the next two years, in a plan it said was aimed at strengthening competitiveness and supporting sustainable growth. The announcement covers jobs that could be eliminated or moved, according to Tagesschau, and the statement does not specify how they would be split between the two possibilities. The company said the transformation would rely on simpler structures, broader use of AI and targeted investment. The move comes as its business faces simultaneous pressure in the mobile, television and fibre-optic markets. The scale of the cuts represents about one in five jobs, according to Tagesschau, while Vodafone says it has more than 12,000 employees in Germany.
The company linked the plan to market changes and intensifying competition. Vodafone Germany Chief Executive Marcel de Groot said the market “is changing radically and at a speed we have never seen before.” Vodafone cited price wars in mobile services, a shrinking television market, strong competition in fibre optics and rising prices generally as pressures on its business. It added that more mobile users switching to other operators’ networks was adding to the challenges. The unit serves about 29 million mobile customers, about 10 million broadband customers and about 9 million television customers. This large customer base puts operational changes at the heart of the company’s effort to respond to multiple pressures in its German markets.
The plan combines a smaller workforce with increased investment in areas Vodafone says will support its digital and network businesses. Target areas include AI, information technology, fibre optics, digital services and digital customer channels. On the operational side, the company plans to gradually integrate customer service with teams serving business and individual customers. Employees across different contact points will be able to access the same systems and data, according to the statement. Vodafone says bringing these tools together goes hand in hand with simpler structures and will enable it to serve customers across its channels using shared data and systems.
The AI applications Vodafone cited include analysing network faults and suggesting solutions, as well as creating and managing advertising campaigns and supporting customer-service employees. The company says structural changes and increased use of these technologies will reduce materials, operating and staff costs. The statement did not specify a target for savings or how they would be allocated among these items. Nor did the announcement link specific savings to the number of job cuts. The plan allows the company to combine the announced cost reductions with funding for additional investment in AI, fibre and digital services, without disclosing financial figures for these changes.
The announcement follows Vodafone Germany recording total revenue of 12.133 billion euros in fiscal 2026, compared with 12.180 billion in fiscal 2025. Organic service revenue contracted 0.2% in fiscal 2026, but returned to growth of 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to group results. Vodafone said organic service revenue performance in Germany improved gradually over the fiscal year, reaching growth in that quarter. The company also said its strategic refocus over the previous two years helped stabilise fixed-line revenue and returned the business segment to growth. This reflects a trajectory combining a slight annual contraction in service revenue with improvement at the end of the fiscal year.
Vodafone shares listed in London closed at 116.95 pence on 9 November, according to L7 data. In its first-quarter fiscal 2027 update, the group said organic service revenue rose 5.2% and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation after leases rose 6.2%. These figures relate to the group, while the jobs plan concerns the German unit. Vodafone is due to release its fiscal 2027 half-year results on 10 November 2026, according to its financial calendar. Detailed talks with employee representatives on the plan’s final design are due to begin early in the next calendar year.