The negotiation of the Expediente Employment Regulations (ERE) continues to advance with the gradual reduction of the number of people concerned. At this summer’s meeting, the company proposed a further reduction in the number of minimum exits and proposed up to 4,000 workers for the three main branches. This figure represents a significant reduction from the 4,600 lost last week and a loss of more than a thousand jobs compared to the initial proposal of 5,040 departures. According to the new description, the adjustment would be distributed between 3,100 companies from Telefónica de España, 750 from Telefónica Móviles and 150 from Telefónica Soluciones, all companies integrated into the Linked Companies Agreement (CEV).
This new scenario implies, for the first time, that the lower totals of the ERE series planned throughout the Telefónica group are below 5,000, placing the minimum number of people affected at 4,873 exits in total, while the maximum ceiling is maintained at 5,913 workers, compared to the initial proposal of 6,088 workers.
Yes, to the 4,000 exits from the three branches of the CEV are added the 873 vacant positions proposed for the four other branches included in the collective bare, so that the minimum volume of people concerned by the ERE is cited 4,873. It is worth remembering that last week the company imposed an additional 5% reduction on the releases of the divisions of Telefónica SA, Global Solutions and Innovación Digital, which is in addition to the 10% reduction previously proposed. For its part, the number of reductions at Movistar+ has remained, for the moment, at 235 people, lagging behind the consecutive reductions.
Telefónica’s initial proposal called for a total of 5,040 exits among the three CEV companies. However, the current terms of the negotiation establish a horquilla that oscillates between 4,000 and 5,040, which lowers the final figure based on the volume of voluntary additions produced.
Under this scheme, if 4,000 voluntary applications are reached, the exit process will be completed without the need for additional payments. On the contrary, in the event that voluntary additions exceed the planned maximum — by recording, for example, 5,300 requests — the total number of departures would in any case be limited to more than 5,040 people.
Despite this increase in employment figures, the unions consider the reduction “insufficient” and ask the company “to make one last effort”. He insists on the guarantee of full voluntary participation in the process and on the improvement of the final economic conditions which will be offered to the factories concerned in the three main branches of the group.
Economic improvement
As part of the negotiation of the agreement, which is taking place in parallel with the ERE, Telefónica has agreed to extend the Related Companies Agreement until 2030, in response to the union’s petition, although it has not yet given up the possibility of carrying out forced layoffs. Among the points positively valued by the unions is the proposal for a voluntary linear income of 50% between 61 and 65 years of age, replacing the old system which oscillated between 68% and 38% depending on age.
Consequently, the company has agreed to extend the health policy for the entire duration of the Special Agreement with Social Security (CESS), if the good representation of workers requires that this coverage is effectively maintained until full jubilation.
Concerning the management of critical zones, progress has been made in which the orders and profiles blocked in the calculation are within the limit of 35% of the zones, which will facilitate your exit without altering the general calculation; However, the UGT and CC OO complain that voluntary compensation is accepted beyond this percentage throughout the process.
According to the calendar, the company proposes March 2026 as the preferred release date, with additional sales in 2026 and 2027, and exceptionally in 2028. Finally, even if the operator maintains its job creation commitment at 7%, the unions are pushing to increase this figure to 10% in order to guarantee a fair and balanced process for the entire factory.
From CC OO they value the progress made until the closure, but ask for a “last effort” from the company to reach a “balanced agreement”, taking into account the proximity of the legal framework and the need to guarantee economic and social conditions for all workers.
For its part, the UGT considers that this remains clearly insufficient to reach an agreement and requires “decisive progress” to guarantee volunteering. “It remains essential to lower this figure further to ensure that the approach is 100% voluntary,” believes the organization. While the third union represented at the negotiating table, Sumados-Fetico, asked to reduce the threshold for voluntary departures to 3,550 people for the three branches of the CEV.
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