Vodafone to cut 375 jobs in the UK

Vodafone has confirmed that it is to shed 375 jobs across the UK as part of a £1bn (A$1.64bn) cost-cutting initiative.

A spokeswoman said that the move would primarily affect those in back-office positions including finance, HR and marketing in a number of locations, including the firm's headquarters in Newbury.

However, Vodafone attempted to soften the blow by also announcing that it would soon be taking on 170 new staff in customer-facing roles.

Matthew Brearley, HR director at Vodafone, explained that the move to bring in more customer-focused staff would help the company offer an improved service.

"We are committed to increasing the number of customer-facing employees which will help us simplify our business," he said.

Vodafone also confirmed that it would take on 50 graduates as part of its university leaver progamme in the coming year.

This is the second time Vodafone staff have faced the threat of redundancy after the firm cut 500 jobs in February last year.

The firm has struggled in the recession, and last May posted profits in the UK of £235m (A$385m), down from £431m (A$7.7) the year before.

Group profits for the year were hit even harder, slumping from £6.8bn (A$11bn) to £3.1bn (A$5bn) .