Vodafone to Slash Jobs in Turnaround Plan: The London Rush

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(Bloomberg) — It is rare you see comments from a FTSE 100 CEO as frank as Vodafone’s Margherita Della Valle at this morning. “Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change,” she said in a full year statement in which she announced the company is cutting 11,000 roles across three years in a new action plan. That also involves a strategic review in Spain and a turnaround plan in Germany. 

Here’s the key business news from London this morning:

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In The City

Vodafone Group Plc : The telecommunications giant’s new CEO Margherita Della Valle said earnings this year will be largely flat as the company slashes jobs and simplifies its corporate structure.

Boohoo Group Plc: The online fashion retailer warned that revenue could decline again this year but profit should start to improve as the fast-fashion retailer cuts costs and targets more sustainable growth.

Imperial Brands Plc: The maker of Winston and Gauloises cigarettes, forecast an acceleration in second-half earnings, helped by price increases.

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In Westminster

One in five taxpayers in the UK will be paying tax at higher rates by 2027 as a result of a stealth raid by Rishi Sunak, according to new findings by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Its researchers warned that 2.5 million more people will be paying rates of 40% or more if income tax thresholds remain frozen, increasing the pressure on the prime minister from Tory members who say the party will lose the next general election unless taxes come down.

The UK’s push to reach net-zero emissions in its power system is being undermined by the long wait time for new projects to connect to the electric grid, the head of Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem will warn on Tuesday. In a speech to the energy industry, Jonathan Brearly will pledge to reform the planning system, otherwise the goal of a decarbonized grid by 2025 may be impossible to reach.

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In Case You Missed It 

Vodafone Group Plc is reportedly trying to sell up to 49% in its Internet of Things arm, in a deal that could value the unit at about £1 billion, according to Sky.

Losing hands. More Barclays Plc bankers are departing for UBS Group AG, which has persuaded half a dozen technology, media and telecommunications experts in New York, San Francisco and Chicago to make the jump, including Richard Hardegree and Laurence Braham. It’s the second time UBS has pounced this year, after hiring a trio of Barclays bankers in April.

And Paris is trying to steal the UK’s fintech crown. A growing number of startups are setting up in the city as the French government pushes to be at the forefront of Europe’s financial technology sector.

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Looking Ahead 

The UK’s top Rolex seller, Watches of Switzerland Group Plc and sneaker chain JD Sports Fashion Plc are among companies due to give quarterly updates tomorrow.

Watches of Switzerland welcomed ex-finance chief Anders Romberg back to the fold this month as it tries to tackle sub-par sales in the US. A weakening US market also poses risks for JD Sports, which is accelerating the pace of organic store openings there as it changes tack to pursue “lifestyle” customers. Investors have cheered the strategy, powering the stock to some of the biggest gains on the FTSE 100 this year.

Elsewhere, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is due to deliver the keynote speech at the British Chamber of Commerce annual conference.

And Sunak is headed for Tokyo for the next step in his international tour, where he’ll hold bilateral talks ahead of his first Group of Seven summit as prime minister later in the week. The G-7 gathering in Hiroshima will also mark the first visit by a British prime minister to the city.

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