TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Vodacom South Africa has come under fire once again after reports surfaced that the company is planning to cut 80 jobs.
Vodacom has a staff complement of about 5 400 people.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the largest wireless operator in Africa told Business Report, “As Vodacom South Africa, we routinely ensure that our business operations are fit for purpose as we transition from a Telco to a leading Technology company. To ensure the continued efficiency of key functions and maintain our competitive edge, we anticipate that our latest operational review will impact less than 80 employees.
“This decision aligns with our commitment to adapt and optimise our business to meet evolving industry and customer demands. Additionally, Vodacom South Africa continues to proactively implement various cost reduction measures to ensure sustainable operations and maintain financial resilience. Our focus remains on delivering excellent service and great value to our customers, and we are committed to supporting those affected by these changes with utmost care and professionalism during this transitional period.”
This comes after last month, when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed an appeal made by Vodacom and ruled in favour of Nkosana Makate.
The long running feud between Makate and Vodacom was over the creation of the “Please Call Me” innovation.
Initially, Vodacom offered Makate a payout of R47 million. However, his legal team rejected this offer.
After various court battles, the case ended up at the SCA and it ordered that Vodacom must use the models Makate’s team submitted to calculate the monies owed.
With this model, Makate’s legal team calculated that a 5% share of Vodacom’s revenue over 18 years comes to R20 billion in compensation.
This is double what Vodacom invests in its South African network every year in the form of capital expenditure.
Following the SCA order, Vodacom said it would be fighting back against the SCA ruling and the order to pay out almost R20 billion to Makate.
The telecommunications giant issued a statement on the JSE news service, Sens, in which it said it would be lodging an application for leave to appeal this judgment.
BUSINESS REPORT