Telefónica has summoned the unions UGT, CCOO, and Sumados-Fetico for November 17 to discuss the workforce impact of its new strategic plan, which may include a voluntary ERE affecting between 5,000 and 6,000 workers. The meeting follows the presentation of the 2026-2030 plan, which forecasts savings of up to 3,000 million euros by 2030, including personnel costs. The company aims to close any agreement before the end of 2025 to book the expenses in the current fiscal year.
The telecommunications company Telefónica has scheduled a key meeting with union representatives for Monday, November 17, 2025. It will explain the implementation of the new 2026-2030 strategic plan, presented on November 4, and its effect on the workforce. Sources close to the matter indicate that a voluntary employment regulation file (ERE) could be announced, based on pre-retirements and incentivized exits, impacting between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs.
The strategic plan envisages progressive savings: 2.3 billion euros by 2028 and 3 billion by 2030, a significant portion of which relates to operating expenses, including salaries. CEO Emilio Gayo stated: "In the numbers we've given for the 2.3 billion (euros in savings) in 2028, of which almost 75% are 'opex' (operating expenses, which include salary costs), we've incorporated all the savings we believe are feasible. (...) Regarding the specific question (about a possible ERE), if those savings include matters related to people, what we can say is that we will always do it hand in hand with the workers' representatives".
The intention is to reach an agreement before the end of 2025 or early January 2026, to record the costs in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year, avoiding extraordinary provisions in 2026. This follows losses of 1.08 billion euros until September due to subsidiary sales. Unions anticipated this communication after elections on November 12 in Telefónica Soluciones.
In October, Telefónica and the unions agreed on a 'social framework' that unifies labor rights, emphasizing equality, reskilling, and inclusion amid technological changes.
The last ERE, closed in January 2024, resulted in 3,420 voluntary exits (from an initial 5,124 proposals) in subsidiaries such as Telefónica de España, Móviles, and Soluciones, with a cost of 1.3 billion euros and annual savings of 285 million. President Marc Murtra, in an internal meeting on November 7, expressed confidence in the plan despite a 16% drop in share price, comparing it to transformations at KPN and British Telecom, without mentioning the ERE. Telefónica has declined to comment.