Union spokespeople said on Monday that Telefonica, Spain’s largest telecoms group, could be reducing its Spanish workforce of 21,000 people by 5100 by 2026.
Globally, Telefonica employs over 100,000 people, which would make the planned cuts around 5% of its global headcount.
The company based the decision on productivity, organisation and technical reasons, according to Spain’s UGT union.
The cuts are part of the company's three-year strategic plan to boost profitability by reducing capital expenditure, raising revenue and cutting costs.
The plan was announced at Telfonica’s capital markets day in November.
Since then, speculation has been rife in the local press, with estimates ranging from around 2,000 to 5,000 jobs on the line.
Telefonica confirmed that a labour adjustment would take place, but did not confirm the exact number of jobs on the line.
Even the union that reported the figure said it could be less, as negotiations on the lay-offs begin next week.
Prior to current plans, Telefonica announced it would be cutting 2,700 positions in late 2021.
