Vodafone, Idea shed a third of their workforce post-merger: report

Vodafone Idea (Image: Reuters)

Vodafone and Idea Cellular, which merged to become Vodafone Idea, have laid off close to 8,000 employees, or one-third of their workforce, in 17 months leading up to this union, Business Standard reported.

When the merger was announced in March last year, the combined workforce of the two operators was 25,000. Annual reports show that Idea Cellular had 11,784 permanent staff and Vodafone India employed 13,187 at the end of March last year.

Sources told the paper that the newly merged entity Vodafone Idea has around 17,000 employees. It is unclear how many employees from both firms have been retained by the new company.

The number of temporary staffers, including contractual and off-roll employees, have also come down, sources told the paper. Vodafone hired over 15,000 people for outsourced jobs like customer services and network monitoring. Idea had 7,300 contractual employees till 2017.

The companies said they tried their best to employ most employees and it would be wrong to say that thousands of jobs have been lost, the paper reported.

A company spokesperson told the paper that both organisations have treated their employees with respect. “As we have repeatedly stated, all appointments are being made on the basis of 'best person for the job' principle using a fair, equitable and transparent process of selection.”

Taking into account people who left voluntarily, the report stated that the reduction in the number of employees is between 15 percent and 18 percent. Both companies have been selective in hiring since the merger came into the picture.

Employees of Idea Cellular have reportedly been absorbed in other Aditya Birla companies, but that is not the case with Vodafone India, the report stated. Sources told the paper that Vodafone employees were interviewed to review their utility in the new company.