Exclusive VodafoneThree has told some staff their roles may be offshored to India under new contracts with Ericsson and Nokia – and that employment protections won't apply.

Employees in the operator's UK Network Development division were last week summoned to calls led by chief network officer Iain Milligan, where they were warned that planning and optimization jobs would be transferred overseas, and permanent staff were "at risk of redundancy."

Voda-Three name post-merger top team, keep schtum on layoffs [1]READ MORE

Contractors, meanwhile, will depart between the end of November and December, depending on their role, while full-timers will leave by the end of January 2026. It's not yet known how many individuals have been impacted, but insiders estimate at least 80 roles have been affected so far.

An internal FAQ seen by The Register explains the changes stem from VodafoneThree's £2 billion partnership with Ericsson and Nokia, announced as part of "one of Europe's largest privately funded infrastructure projects" to deliver a standalone 5G network.

"As part of our ambition to build the UK's best network we have appointed Ericsson and Nokia as our key partners," the note says, adding that the deal will help meet commitments made to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority following the Vodafone-Three merger earlier this year.

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However, this has reportedly sparked anger among employees, who were informed that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) – or TUPE – regulations would not apply because the roles are being relocated offshore.

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"In our current context, the activity transferring to Ericsson and Nokia will be based in India, therefore TUPE does not apply," the FAQ states. "Whilst Ericsson and Nokia both have services and employees in European locations, including the UK, the roles impacted will be offshored to India."

[5]BT promises 5G Standalone for 99% of the UK by 2030

[6]Unite the union claims Vodafone and Three merger is about 'corporate greed'

[7]Huawei counts cost of Western bans as UK business withers

[8]Vodafone keels over, cutting off millions of mobile and broadband customers

The Register understands that around 55 permanent staff were on last week's call alone, with separate sessions held for managers, contractors and other departments. "People are pissed off," a source said. "The merger was supposed to create jobs for the UK, not reduce them."

Emails sent by Milligan, also seen by The Register , direct affected employees to a consultation "microsite" hosting the FAW, redundancy terms and other resources, and confirm that collective consultation began on 23 October.

VodafoneThree's a crowd – now comes the hard bit [9]READ MORE

VodafoneThree said the changes were intended to "accelerate delivery" of its CMA commitments, including to "drive best practice, innovation, and process improvement." However, the offshoring move has reignited concerns among staff and unions that the merged operator's cost-saving plans are coming at the expense of UK jobs.

Milligan, a former Vodafone UK CTO, took charge of network integration and infrastructure following the completion of the Vodafone-Three merger earlier this year, [10]which saw executives from both companies move into senior roles at the newly formed VodaThree brand .

At the time, the company said the tie-up would "create a best-in-class network team combining deep UK expertise." That message now rings hollow for those facing redundancy.

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VodafoneThree did not immediately respond to The Register 's request for comment.

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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/14/vodathree_name_postmerger_top_team/

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aQSWyVMPZ8BoBRDdM-stCQAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

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[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/02/bt_5g_standalone_2030/

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/unite_the_union_claims_vodafone/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/02/huawei_uk_decline/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/13/vodafone_outage/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/02/vodafone_three_complete_merger/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/14/vodathree_name_postmerger_top_team/

[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aQSWyVMPZ8BoBRDdM-stCQAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/