UK cellular telecommunications giant Vodafone Group Plc has unveiled plans to restructure the company and give itself a new corporate identity, in a move that will see the loss of some 300 jobs. The company anticipates 250 staff will be made redundant and phased out over an 18-month period, mainly affecting its Cheltenham and Cricklewood operations. The main intention behind the rationalization plans will see the company merging its six service provider units, which send out bills and sell telephones, merging into three new businesses each designed to focus on a separate distribution channel, catering for a different type of customer. Vodafone corporate communications manager Mike Caldwell says prior to yesterday’s announcement, the company had five billing systems, 12 retail brands and 87 different tariffs. There will now be one billing system, meaning all Vodafone customers will receive their bills direct from the company instead of from third party companies, tariffs will be reduced to around 20 and there will be two customer care areas; one catering for the consumer, the other for major corporate customers. Vodafone will now trade under one universal name, Vodafone, and will get rid of its London Car Phone, People’s Phone, Talkland and other names, with effect from the beginning of October. Instead of spending its money on several advertising campaigns under different names, Caldwell says the company will be investing 135m pounds ($228m) in a single name campaign. Vodafone will spend 15m pounds on changing the identity of premises, including all of its shops, literature and vehicles. Although the company anticipates it will lose 20m pounds in profits this fiscal year, it believes profit will show a 10m pound improvement in the second year and a 35m pound rise in the third year. It is only six months since Vodafone called on the services of corporate identity consultants Springpot Ltd to design and develop its new identity in a bid to establish a single brand for the entire group. Back in June Vodafone announced net profits for the year to March 31 up 17% at 363.8m pounds on revenue that rose 17% to 1.64bn pounds (CI No 3,175) and reached a milestone when it said it was the first time ever that Vodafone had turned an operating profit on its overseas operations.
