Vodafone will slash hundreds of jobs in an effort to turn around its flagging business in Australia.
It is understood Vodafone plans to axe 500 of its 5000 employees, including contractors, across Australia.
Chief executive Bill Morrow says there will be a 'significant reduction' in the number of office roles across the country.
'Vodafone will be a leaner, more effective business that is completely focused on what our customers want now and for the long term,' he said in a statement on Monday.
The job cuts are part of continued changes at Vodafone due to plummeting customer numbers and poor network coverage.
A large proportion of the job cuts are expected to be in Sydney where Vodafone has its Australian head office.
The affected staff will be advised by the end of the week and will finish working at Vodafone by the end of November.
A spokeswoman said there would be no voluntary redundancies.
Vodafone Hutchison Australia, a joint venture between Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) and British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group, operates the Vodafone and 3 brands in Australia.
Vodafone lost 178,000 customers in the first half of its 2012 financial year, which reduced its total customer base to 6.8 million.
During the six months to June 30, the company also suffered a $131.3 million loss in Australia.
Vodafone said its number of customer complaints had reduced by 50 per cent since it experienced a series of network breakdowns in January 2011.
However, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Vodafone complaints increased 11.3 per cent during the 2011/12 financial year, compared to the previous year.
Mr Morrow said the company would eliminate all non-essential costs and refocus its investments in its wireless data network.
'The network is beginning to improve, the customer benefits are starting to flow and we're intensifying our network investment as we position for future growth,' he said.
