Vodafone review to result in 100 redundancies as ARPU drops 9.3%

VODAFONE Ireland has confirmed that it is likely to cut around 100 jobs from its workforce here, as part of its ongoing operations review.

The job losses — likely to be through voluntary redundancies — will be in its Dublin headquarters.

Vodafone employs around 1,800 people across its head office, another facility in Dundalk and a network of retail shops.

In a statement released yesterday, the company said: “As we confirmed in

December, an internal efficiency review is ongoing. Its aim is to determine the appropriate organisational structure needed to meet the increasing competitive challenge and new market opportunities we face.

“We can confirm that we wrote to the minister advising that the outcome of this review may result in approximately 100 voluntary redundancies. We are currently in consultations with the relevant trade unions and employee representatives.”

The full outcome of the talks, according to the company, will be known nearer the end of this month. In December, Vodafone Ireland reacted angrily to press claims that it was about to cut around 500 jobs here, saying at that point that it was too early to confirm how many positions could be affected.

Yesterday’s news coincided with Vodafone Ireland releasing its latest set of key performance indicators, for the final three months of 2006 — the third quarter of the group’s financial year. During the period, the company added 59,000 new customers brining its Irish customer base to 2.17 million. The launch of its 3G network in November resulted in 7,000 connections and customers here consumed an average of 233 voice minutes and sent 119 text messages in each of the three months in the period in question. That compared to a Vodafone European average of 140 minutes and 59 text messages per month.

There was a 9.3% year-on-year drop in monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) — basically, the amount of money it makes from each customer — to €45.60; still ahead of European averages for the company.