Vodacom Set to Layoff 80 Employees

One of the two mobile phone providers in South Africa, Vodacom Group, announced on Wednesday that it intended to reduce expenses by terminating roughly 270 employees at one of its subsidiaries.

Vodacom To Lay Off 270,000 Employees In South Africa

A Vodacom spokesperson, Joan Joffe, told Reuters, “We are looking at 270 people to lay off.” According to her, the team planned to finish cutting jobs by November of this year.

When questioned about the potential effects of the job cuts on South Africa’s already rising unemployment rate, Joffe responded, “This is a business decision.”

Vodacom said in a statement that temporary employees, primarily performing administrative tasks, were among those facing layoffs.

The consolidation of Teljoy Cellular, GSM Cellular, and Cellphones Direct—three recently acquired service provider companies by Vodacom—follows the layoffs. After merging, the three became Vodacom Service Provider Company.

Vodacom In A Tight Situation Over The Please Call Me Service

With the announcement of the layoffs, Vodacom has been dealing with a lot of problems lately. The business and a former employee are presently engaged in a drawn-out legal dispute regarding compensation for the creation of the “Please Call Me” service.

The Telco stated, “This is an additional step to ensure that Vodacom will be in a better position to meet and respond to the changing cellular environment as well as to take advantage of significant economies of scale.”

South Africa About To Grant Licence To A Third Mobile Phone Operator

With a population of roughly 43 million, South Africa is about to grant licenses to a third mobile phone operator in a bid process beset by legal disputes and accusations of corruption at the state’s telecoms watchdog.

About one-third of South Africa’s 15 million economically active citizens suffer from unemployment.

Currently, MTN and Vodacom, which is 50% owned by state telecoms utility operator Telkom, dominate South Africa’s mobile phone market.