MasOrange, the telecommunications company resulting from the merger of Orange and MásMóvil in Spain, has announced a voluntary labor regulation (ERE) file for a maximum of 795 workers, which represents 9.5% of the approximately 8,400 employees that make up the company’s current workforce, as detailed in an internal statement sent to employees this Tuesday and to which Europa Press had access.
On March 26, Orange and MásMóvil closed the ongoing negotiations to seal their 50/50 merger in Spain after an operation valued at approximately 18.6 billion euros and, from that same day, they began operating as a single company with a workforce of approximately 8,400 employees, of which 6,600 are from Orange and approximately 1,800 from MásMóvil.
The maximum period to establish the ERE negotiation table with the unions will be 15 days, which is why the telecommunications company’s intention is that the dialogue with social agents ends in mid-October, when the process of joining the voluntary departure plan will begin, as company sources confirmed to Europa Press.
In this sense, the management of MasOrange – the main telecommunications company in Spain in terms of volume of customers – has expressed to employees its desire to “work in an honest and transparent manner to be able to reach agreements that are satisfactory for all.”
MasOrange CEO Meinrad Spenger held a virtual meeting with workers this Tuesday to inform them of the situation and, in this regard, the company indicated that since the beginning of its activity this year, it has “worked intensively to implement the best possible organization” to achieve the company’s objectives.
However, MasOrange defends the need to apply the ERE because it has verified that there are still “certain organizational duplications” following the integration of Orange and MásMóvil personnel. According to the company, this formula was chosen “due to its rapid implementation” and because “its conditions are negotiated within the framework of the social sphere and offer all legal guarantees.” “The organizational adjustment plan announced today is in line with the position that the company’s managers have always maintained, who have clearly opted for voluntary participation from the beginning,” the sources consulted emphasize.
Indeed, in early April, Spenger said at a press briefing and earlier at an employee event that the company was not considering “a massive layoff plan.”
Likewise, the merger of Orange and MásMóvil required government approval, which was accompanied, as described by the Minister of Digital Transformation and Civil Service, José Luis Escriva, by a “really ambitious” industrial plan – up to 4 billion euros – and sufficient commitments to “maintain employment”.
Thus, the company stressed that volunteering will be the preferred criterion for joining the ERE, which will affect the main companies of the group (Orange Spain, Orange España Comunicaciones Fijas, Xfera Móviles, Lorca Telecom Bidco, Euskaltel and R Cable y Télécâble).
However, stores, call centers and certain functional areas of the company will be excluded from the process.
On the other hand, and in line with the company’s desire to “define fair and satisfactory conditions for those who decide to join the plan”, the ERE will be accompanied by a “good relocation plan”. According to the internal statement to which Europa Press had access, “the company will give its best in this process, working honestly and transparently to be able to reach agreements that are satisfactory for all and start a new chapter without uncertainties”.
UGT rejects the measure
For its part, the UGT issued a statement stating that it rejects the measure presented by the company, because, according to it, “it is part of a policy of destruction of well-trained and well-paid jobs, which bring wealth and added value to companies” in the Spanish economy.
“A pernicious regulation that no government has wanted to correct is leading to a vicious circle of collective layoffs. In any case and if it is not withdrawn, the UGT will defend total volunteering and a remuneration and early retirement package similar to those signed in 2021 at Orange Spain,” the organization adds.
Nearly 5,000 layoffs between Telefónica, Vodafone and Avatel
The ERE of MasOrange joins the wave of collective layoffs that has taken place in recent months in the main companies in the telecommunications sector in Spain, such as Vodafone, Telefónica or Avatel. The most recent process took place at Vodafone Spain, where the unions and the company agreed in mid-July to lay off 898 workers, or 27.5% of the company’s workforce.
It is worth remembering that this latest ERE at Vodafone is the fifth to affect the company in Spain since 2013, processes that have led to the departure of around 4,100 employees from the company.
In the case of Telefónica, the ERE was definitively resolved in February of that year and resulted in the voluntary departure of 3,420 workers from its three main subsidiaries in Spain (Telefónica de España, Móviles and Soluciones). On the other hand, the ERE of Avatel Telecom took place at the beginning of last June with the departure of 674 workers, almost 36% of the company’s workforce, and also included voluntary membership.
Thus, the processes initiated by Vodafone, Telefónica and Avatel have led to the dismissal of almost 5,000 workers in the telecommunications sector in Spain in 2024 alone, to which a maximum of 795 departures will now be added at MasOrange. In this sense, it is common for negotiations between the company and the unions to reduce the impact of this type of process, so it is expected that the same will happen at MasOrange.
