Only for employees
Reorganization at VodafoneZiggo
Has VodafoneZiggo announced that your position is being eliminated, or is there a departure proposal or settlement agreement on the table?
Are you facing a reorganization at VodafoneZiggo? The telecoms company is cutting jobs across all layers of the organization and is changing owner at the same time: Vodafone is stepping out and Liberty Global is becoming the sole shareholder, with a stock market listing ahead. This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and internationals. The change of ownership does not in principle alter your employment contract, but the cost pressure behind it does reach you. Before you sign, it is wise to know your rights and whether the offer does justice to your situation.
Does this apply to you?
- Your position is being eliminated or your team is shrinking
- You have been declared redundant
- You work in customer contact, retail, technology, IT or the office
- You have received a departure proposal or arrangement
- You have received a settlement agreement
Why employees turn to ReorgLegal
ReorgLegal specialises in reorganizations and works solely for employees, never for employers. We assess your proposal and stand beside you.
Do not wait too long. Reorganizations often come with short response deadlines. Have any proposal assessed before you agree to it.
The situation at VodafoneZiggo
VodafoneZiggo is cutting costs because it is losing customers, and this is happening while its owner changes.
Jobs cut due to customer losses
In May 2025 VodafoneZiggo announced it would cut around 400 jobs, spread across all layers of the organization. According to the announcement, roughly half disappears through forced departure and the other half through natural attrition and the non-renewal of temporary contracts. As the reason the company cites continued customer losses, declining revenue and a strategy to simplify the organization.
From joint venture to a single owner
In early 2026 it emerged that Vodafone is selling its fifty per cent stake to Liberty Global, which thereby becomes the sole owner. Together with the Belgian company Telenet, VodafoneZiggo will come under a new company, Ziggo Group, which is expected to list on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 2027. The Vodafone brand name will continue to exist in the Netherlands.
The figures and arrangements around a reorganization can change. This page was last updated in July 2026; the facts shown apply as far as known at that time.
In short
- Around 400 jobs cut, announced in May 2025
- Roughly half through forced departure, the rest through attrition and temporary contracts
- Reason: customer losses, lower revenue and simplifying the organization
- Liberty Global becomes the sole owner; Vodafone steps out
- A stock market listing of Ziggo Group foreseen in 2027
- Have your situation assessed before you sign
What does the change of ownership mean for you?
What makes the situation at VodafoneZiggo unusual is that the reorganization coincides with a change of shareholder. That is precisely where a lot of uncertainty exists among staff.
Your employer remains the same party
Vodafone selling its shares to Liberty Global is a transfer of shares. Your legal employer, VodafoneZiggo, remains the same undertaking; only the shareholder behind it changes. A transfer of shares is therefore in principle not a transfer of undertaking, and your employment contract, your collective agreement and your terms of employment do not change through it in themselves.
The cost pressure does reach you
What does affect you in practice is the pressure to save costs and simplify the organization that sits behind the reorganization. An upcoming stock market listing usually sharpens the focus on results and efficiency even further. It is therefore wise not to assess a departure proposal as an isolated event, but against the backdrop of this broader movement.
Uncertain what the takeover means for your position? Have your situation assessed before you sign anything.
What to watch for
- That a transfer of shares does not in principle change your contract
- Whether a proposed change has genuinely been agreed with you
- Which collective agreement and social plan apply to you
- Whether the reason for your redundancy holds up
- The terms of a departure proposal
How a reorganization at VodafoneZiggo unfolds
If your position is eliminated, the reorganization goes through a fixed number of steps. At each step there is something you can check or have reviewed.
Consultation and advice from the works council
VodafoneZiggo first puts a proposed reorganization to the works council, which may advise on it. Only then does it become clear which positions disappear and which positions are mutually interchangeable.
Who becomes redundant
VodafoneZiggo does not decide for itself who has to leave. Within mutually interchangeable positions the reflection principle applies in principle, subject to the statutory exceptions such as indispensable employees. If the grouping of positions or the calculation is not sound, your place in the order may look different.
Reassignment and support
Being redundant is an intermediate step, not a settled dismissal. Dismissal may only come into view after it has been investigated whether there is a suitable position for you, if necessary within a reasonable period and after retraining. The social plan supplements this with job-to-job support. If reassignment does not succeed, an offer via a settlement agreement often follows, or otherwise a dismissal application with the UWV.
At every step there is something you can do
- As soon as the plans are known: request the social plan and your status in writing
- If you become redundant: have the reflection principle and the selection recalculated
- If you are offered another role: check whether it is genuinely suitable
- If an arrangement is on the table: do not sign without independent review
What does this mean for you?
A reorganization at VodafoneZiggo follows the statutory rules that determine your rights in an economic dismissal, supplemented by the collective agreement and the social plan. You have rights at each of these points.
Objective selection
In deciding who becomes redundant, VodafoneZiggo is bound by fixed rules. Within interchangeable positions the reflection principle designates the order in principle, subject to the statutory exceptions. If the grouping or the application is incorrect, that can work in your favour.
A suitable position first
Dismissal may only come into view after it has been investigated whether there is a suitable position for you, if necessary after retraining and within a reasonable period. The social plan provides support for this. If that investigation is skipped, a dismissal often does not hold up before the court or the UWV.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on VodafoneZiggo's initiative and reassignment does not succeed, you are usually entitled to the statutory transition payment. Compensation from the social plan generally comes on top of that, unless a specific statutory exception applies. Have it recalculated whether the amount matches your years of service and salary.
The settlement agreement
A departure is almost always recorded in a settlement agreement. It determines, among other things, your end date, your compensation and your unemployment benefit rights; have its content assessed first before you sign.
Collective agreement and social plan as your anchor
In a reorganization, VodafoneZiggo's collective agreement and social plan are your most important anchor. They determine what you receive if your position disappears.
A social plan that has been extended
VodafoneZiggo has agreed a social plan with trade unions that arranges support in the event of redundancy, with arrangements on guidance, reassignment and compensation. That plan has been extended, so that the same provisions apply for a longer period. For you it is important to know which version applies to your situation and what it concretely offers.
Customer contact, technology or office
The reorganization affects a wide range of roles, from customer contact and retail to technology, IT and support functions. In customer contact the pressure is increasing through digitalisation and the use of AI and self-service. If you work as an international, for example on a highly skilled migrant permit in an IT or engineering role, a departure also has consequences for your residence rights; there is separate information on dismissal as an international.
Not sure what the social plan offers you? Have your situation assessed before you agree.
What to watch for
- Which version of the social plan applies to you
- The length of the support and the mediation towards other work
- The amount and the calculation of your compensation
- For internationals: your residence rights and the search period
- The end date and the final discharge in the agreement
What you can do now
If you are affected by the reorganization at VodafoneZiggo, take the steps below before you commit to anything. The sooner you know where you stand, the more room remains.
- Request the social plan, the collective agreement and your personal proposal in writing
- Have it checked whether the reflection principle and the selection have been applied correctly
- Weigh up whether an offered role genuinely suits you
- Have the compensation recalculated against your years of service and salary
- Do not put your signature to a settlement agreement before it has been reviewed
Is there a departure proposal or a settlement agreement from VodafoneZiggo on the table? Send it to us for review before you make a final decision.
When should you involve us?
- There is a settlement agreement or departure proposal
- Your position is disappearing or your team is shrinking
- You have doubts about your compensation or about the reassignment
- You want to know whether a change to your terms is allowed
- You have only a few days left to respond
Frequently asked questions
These are questions VodafoneZiggo staff bring to us in practice.
Is there a departure proposal or a settlement agreement on your desk? Put it before us for review.
Does anything change in my contract now that Liberty Global becomes the sole owner?
Through the transfer of shares in itself, in principle not. Your employer remains the same undertaking and your employment contract and collective agreement continue to apply. If you are presented with a change, have it assessed before you agree to it.
I have been declared redundant. How strong is my position?
Being redundant is an intermediate step, not a settled dismissal. If the reflection principle has been applied incorrectly or the reassignment has been too thinly investigated, that can strengthen your position.
What does my compensation consist of if I have to leave?
If your employment ends on VodafoneZiggo's initiative, you are usually entitled to the statutory transition payment. Compensation from the social plan generally comes on top of that, unless a specific statutory exception applies. The amount depends on the arrangement, your years of service and your salary.
My work in customer contact is changing through digitalisation. What does that mean?
If your position disappears through digitalisation or automation, the same rules apply as in any reorganization: objective selection, an investigation into reassignment and, if departure is unavoidable, compensation. Have your position assessed before you agree.
Received a settlement agreement? Get a free review.
Upload your agreement and we will assess your situation, free and without obligation. On business days we respond within 1 hour. Your legal fees are usually covered by your employer.
Start free review