The news:
- Vodacom Group Ltd., a Vodafone majority-owned mobile communications company, has disclosed that it’s planning to reduce its workforce in South Africa to cut costs.
- Responding to queries on Monday, March 18, 2024, the Johannesburg-based wireless firm, which currently has 5,400 employees, noted that the reduction will happen across all levels of the company.
A spokesperson for Vodacom Group explained that as part of the company’s action plan for transitioning from a telecom firm to a leading technology company, it routinely conducts exercises like this to ensure all its business operations are fit for purpose.
“Additionally, Vodacom South Africa continues to proactively implement various cost reduction measures to ensure sustainable operations and maintain financial resilience,” they added.
Vodacom Group Limited, which now brands itself as an African-focused connectivity, digital and financial services firm, is a South African mobile communications company that provides voice, messaging, data and converged services to customers across Africa.
Since its inception in South Africa, the company has grown and expanded to Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho, Kenya, and, most recently, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Vodacom Business Africa (VBA), the South African company's enterprise-focused ICT subsidiary, provides business services to enterprises in 47 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.
The company claims to serve over 500 million customers in the African markets where it operates.
The ongoing economic downturn in South Africa, which puts the official unemployment rate in the country at 32.1%, has led to a plunge in metal prices, forcing companies to trim jobs to reduce costs.
Reports indicate that platinum producers operating in the Southern African nation are in the process of cutting more than 6,000 jobs.
Speaking about Vodacom’s plan to lay off its workers, Matthew Parks, a spokesperson for the Congress of South African Trade Unions, stated that the union will explore other alternatives to downsizing.
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He also noted that Vodacom has no justification to retrench a single worker, as the company made massive profits.
In the six months that ended September 30, Vodacom’s net income increased by 9% to R8.5 billion ($447 million), compared to costs which surged 37% to 28 billion rand ($1.5 billion).
