An SFR store in Lille (illustrative image).

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AFP

Up to 1,700 voluntary departures are planned at SFR for the year 2021, it is 11% of its workforce, said unions and management on Wednesday.

The group hopes to consolidate its position as the second French telecoms operator by 2025.

According to the CFDT, interviewed by AFP, "400 departures are planned on a voluntary basis in the shops as well as 1,300 for other functions of the company".

These departures "on an exclusive voluntary basis" will be combined with a "large recruitment plan for 1,000 young graduates over four years", as well as a strengthening of the company's learning and training policy, indicated in a press release.

Goals for fiber and 5G

"To achieve this, negotiations are now underway with the social partners," she added.

This plan responds in particular to the drop in footfall in stores - it has fallen by 30% due in particular to the health crisis - and to the “continuous progression” of online purchases.

Alongside this social component, SFR has set itself several strategic objectives, particularly in the fiber sector where it aims to connect “more than 90% of French households in 2025” as well as win “5 million new customers” .

Along with the densification of the 4G network, SFR also aims to cover “98% of cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants in 5G” on the 3.5 GHz frequency band.

It also intends "to be the market leader in terms of the number of 5G customers", without however giving any quantified objective.

In the lucrative business segment, where it is far behind its competitor Orange, SFR is targeting “100% growth in the number of SME customers” in its offers.

In fiscal 2020, SFR, which has around 15,000 employees, increased its turnover by 2.4% to 10.6 billion euros.

The operator is a subsidiary of the Altice France group, also present in the media (BFMTV, RMC, etc.).

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