Vodafone has confirmed that it is to seek 100 voluntary redundancies from its Irish operations.
The company said today that an internal efficiency review was underway "to determine the appropriate organizational structure needed" to meet the increasing competition in the Irish market.
The UK-based mobile phone company said it had written to the Minister for Enterprise and Employment Micheal Martin advising that the outcome of the review may result in approximately 100 voluntary redundancies.
A spokeswoman said it had not been decided from which sector the redundancies would be sought.
She said the company - which employs 1800 employees at its operations in Dublin, Dundalk and other retail outlets - was consulting trade unions and employee representatives on it plans and would make a formal announcement at the end of February.
Vodafone Ireland today also said it had added 59,000 more Irish customers in the three months to December 31st, bringing its total subscriber base in Ireland to 2,178,000.
But the company's average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) fell to €45.60, down from €46.90 in the previous quarter.
Overall the Vodafone group said today it had crossed the 200 million customer mark, as it beat third-quarter forecasts for new sign-ups and reiterated its full-year expectations.
The firm, which is now eyeing a controlling stake in India's fourth-biggest mobile operator Hutchison Essar, said it added a net 8.7 million new customers in its fiscal third quarter to December 31st, taking its total to 198.6 million.
Chief Executive Arun Sarin said the firm had crossed the 200-million customer mark this month. "It took us 15 years to get our first 100 million customers," he told reporters.
"It took us 5 years to get the next 100 million. There is good momentum in the business."
The group said its mobile revenue rose 6.1 per cent during the key Christmas quarter, with growth in emerging markets such as eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa far outpacing core Western Europe markets.
The average forecast for revenue growth was 6.2 per cent.