This quarter, Telefónica presented its final Expedient Employment Regulation (ERE) offer to the three main legal branches subject to the Related Companies Agreement (CEV) with a minimum workforce of 3,765 workers, a figure significantly lower than the 5,040 affected at the start. In this way, the total number of minimum productions for the entire group falls to 4,554 workers, compared to the initial planting of 6,088 productions, which represents a reduction of approximately 25%. And the ERE will lead to a 26% reduction in the workforce of the seven branches concerned, which currently have a total of 17,248 employees.
According to the latest proposal made with this million, most of the reduction falls on Telefónica de España, with 2,925 bases followed by Móviles, with 720; and Soluciones, with 120. After this last meeting, the adjustment negotiations were finalized, so that the company makes its final proposal for the subsidiaries Global Solutions (TGS), Innovación Digital (TID) and Telefónica SA (TSA), with 599 employees in total; y for Movistar Plus+, with 190 low points.
The mayors’ unions (UGT, CC OO and Sumados-Fetico) will promote this last proposal without considering that with these minimum figures it is possible to guarantee the completely voluntary nature of the adjustment, therefore the agreement is imminent. Once the final offers have been transferred to the groups of workers in each of the branches concerned, they will receive their response to the company, which is why the ERA could be sealed with the agreement between the company and the unions this very week.
Basic system communicating
With the latest proposal the company has put on the table, this million dollars for the three companies subject to CEV constitutes the highest negotiation choice. However, the adjustment in Telefónica España, Móviles y Soluciones has been the most complicated because, in addition to what the weight of the ERE assumes, it is based on a certain number of minimum and maximum yields depending on the number of volunteers per system of communicating vessels.
The key to this system is that the final number of people undressed is not fixed, but depends on the number of people who voluntarily register. The result of 3,765 exits is the minimum objective that the company wishes to achieve. If there are at least 3,765 volunteers, there will be no additional forced layoffs. The technique, maintained at 5,040 exits, is the maximum number of strippers allowed. Even if 6,000 volunteers showed up, the company alone would accept 5,040, depending on the region. And if the number of volunteers fell, for example, to 3,500 people, the company would carry out 265 forced layoffs to reach the minimum of 3,765.
However, given the economic conditions and social benefits agreed in the ERA, companies and unions believe that there will be no problem filling the volunteer pool and therefore will not have to resort to forced evictions. Of course, it is more likely that there will be an excess of petitions, as was the case during the previous 2024 ERA.
The agreement in the rest of the branches is on track since the meeting of the negotiating tables on March 16, with a cumulative discount of around 20% of the ERE allocation. The allocation to these three subsidiaries is distributed as follows: 112 people for Telefónica Global Solutions (approximately 18% of a total workforce of 638 employees), 186 for Telefónica Innovación Digital (approximately 19% of a total of 993) and 301 for Telefónica SA (approximately 26% of a total of 1,160 employees), which adds up to a total of 599 bajas.
This resulted in the addition of 190 low proposals for Movistar+, or 22% of the total of 860 employees working for the television branch, compared to the 297 concerned at the start of the negotiations (around 35% of the total workforce). Tomorrow, today, there is a last meeting in this branch but it is estimated that the company will not vary its offer.
Improvements in CEV agencies
This quarter’s meeting for the CEV branches resulted in a final offer for the allocation of the ERE as follows: 2,925 people for Telefónica de España (approximately 33% of a workforce of 8,892 employees), 720 for Telefónica Móviles (20% of a total of 8,892) and 120 for Telefónica Soluciones (approximately 11% of the total 1,118 employees), which makes a total of 3,765 employees.
In addition, it is possible to improve exit conditions, by guaranteeing income above legality. Among the most highlighted points is a firm commitment to create 10% jobs, a measure specifically designed to balance the workforce and guarantee cohesion in all territories where the company operates. Furthermore, the agreement opens the door to which areas considered critical can overcome 35% of voluntary additions, provided that the monitoring committee has objective commercial circumstances that justify it. Precisely, this commission relies on its powers to closely supervise the process, analyze individual petitions and give priority to collectives which were initially vetoed.
As part of social protection, the agreement guarantees the financing of the Special Agreement with Social Security for employees who end their contract after less than 55 years, equivalent to its duration to that of the rest of the collective. Asimismo, the possibility of opting for a linear income over the last four years is introduced and the reversibility of income is confirmed in the event of death to protect the heirs. Health coverage is also strengthened through the expansion of health insurance, the maintenance of group and survival insurance, and the maintenance of contributions to the ATAM (private telephone social protection system) for 63 years, the age at which an extraordinary contribution of 1,000 euros for the retirement plan if this has not been previously purchased.
For its part, the UGT has set the value according to which compensation in the form of rent will be much higher than those set by law, except in specific cases where the annual payment is more advantageous. The negotiation also managed to reduce the mandatory minimum results without changing the overall voluntary surplus figure, ensuring that the process was as less traumatic as possible.
For workers who cannot access early retirement, the special agreement will be extended for more than 63 years. Finally, the company will update the regulatory salary for the calculation of income, increase the social security reduction during unemployment and settle the bonus for services rendered at the time of departure, thus ensuring a complete economic guarantee for each professional.
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