Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
On March 11 2019, the telecommunications company Vodafone Italia (Vodafone group) presented an industrial plan to the trade unions that foresees 1,130 redundancies (16% of the approximately 7,000 workers currently employed by the company) in all the company's functions.
According to the management, this decision is necessary due to the structural transformation of the market and the drastic drop in prices due to extraordinary competitive pressure, particularly in the mobile segment.
The company also announced its willingness to enter a dialogue with trade unions, in the hope that it can continue in a constructive way with the objective and the mutual commitment to identify sustainable solutions for the employees and for the company.
The trade unions argued that, also in virtue of the past agreements with Vodafone Italia, they are available to verify the possibility of professional reconversion and efficiency improvements, but that there is no room for unilateral action and dismissals.
Update, 05/04/2019: Vodafone Italia and the trade unions reached an agreement which significantly reduces redundancies. The agreement entails the use of solidarity contracts (subsidised working time reductions) for 4,870 employees (for 12 months extendable by another 6 with a vertical hour reduction up to a maximum of 25% for the customer care operating areas and 5% for the remaining impacted areas); professional retraining for over 300 employees aimed at bringing back activities currently carried out externally; voluntary and incentivised early retirement for 570 employees; a recruitment plan for 300 employees over 3 years with key competencies for the company's future growth. Satisfaction was expressed both by the company and by the trade unions.
Eurofound (2019), Vodafone Italia, Internal restructuring in Italy, factsheet number 97344, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/97344.
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