Vodafone will axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years as the new chief executive sets out her plans to “simplify” the telecoms giant.
The cuts equal around a tenth of its global workforce and will affect its UK headquarters and other countries.
Margherita Della Valle, who is also Vodafone’s finance director, said its “performance has not been good enough”.
Vodafone has 12,000 staff in Britain, based in seven offices including at its UK headquarters in Berkshire.
The firm, which had 104,000 staff worldwide last year, has already outlined plans to cut jobs in some areas.
The UK telecoms giant has had a tough few years, as it struggles with higher energy costs and falling sales in big markets such as Germany, Italy and Spain where it has struggled to keep pace with rivals.
“Part of that can be tied to falling customer satisfaction levels in those regions,” said Matt Britzman, an analyst at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown.
Vodafone’s broadband service in the UK was the second most complained about of any major provider in the three months to December, according to the industry watchdog Ofcom.
It also faced embarrassment in April when a problem knocked out its broadband services for around 11,000 UK customers.
Ms Della Valle, who was appointed as Vodafone’s new chief in January, said: “To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change.
“My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness.”
It announced the job cuts after reporting a small rise in full year sales to €45.7bn (£39.7bn) and a fall in pre-tax profits.
It also forecast earnings would be “broadly flat” for the current financial year.
Vodafone’s former boss Nick Read stepped down in December following concerns over the company’s performance. During his four years in charge the firm’s share price fell sharply.
Mr Britzman agreed with Ms Della Valle’s assessment of Vodafone’s business, describing it as “lacklustre” in recent years.
He said her honesty about the challenges Vodafone is facing is “refreshing” but investors were yet to be convinced she could turn things around.
Shares in the telecoms giant fell by 5% on Tuesday.
“[Ms Della Valle’s plans] make sense on paper, but markets will need to see tangible results over the coming year before they get more excited,” he said.
