Telefonica reportedly informed unions it will cut more than 5,000 jobs in Spain by 2026, part of ongoing efforts to reduce costs and keep its workforce in line with its size in the market.

A union representative told Reuters it had begun negotiations with the operator for around 5,100 layoffs and the cuts would be based on productivity, organisation structures and technical reasons.

Telefonica has not released an official announcement confirming the size of the cuts, but it did tell the news outlet it was making a “labour adjustment”.

Out of more than 103,000 employed globally, 21,000 of Telefonica’s workforce are based in its home market.

News of the move comes a month after Telefonica set out its Growth, Profitability and Sustainability strategy, which outlined its financial targets through to 2026. CEO Jose Maria-Alvarez Pallete said the plan reflected its ambitions to lead in the digital age and grow beyond being only a telecoms company.

Other European companies in the sector have also recently announced plans for thousands of job cuts, including fellow operator BT Group and vendor Nokia.