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By Clare Kane
MADRID, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Mobile phone operator Vodafone said it had reached agreement with labour unions to layoff 620 workers at its recession-hit Spanish unit, adding to alist of job cuts in Spain's hard-hit economy.
Many companies in Spain, where the unemployment rate alreadystands at 26 percent, are laying off staff to cut costs. Theruling centre-right government, in the midst an austerity driveto slash its deficit, has introduced measures to make hiring andfiring easier.
Vodafone's job cuts are less than the maximum of 1,000 jobsinitially expected, but is in line with the reduced figure of650 which unions said last month the company was seeking.
"The agreement reached limits the number of job cuts to 620,while some services may be outsourced, affecting up to 130jobs," Vodafone said in a statement after negotiations finishedon Thursday.
The London-listed company, which employs around 4,000 peoplein Spain, said working conditions for 150 workers would alsochange and that 400 staff would no longer receive tax-freeluncheon vouchers.
It said lay-offs were necessary to support the "viability"of the company and free up funds for investments ininfrastructure and networks.
Elsewhere in Spain, airline Iberia faces strikesthis month and in March as workers protest against plans toslash over 3,000 jobs.
Bailed-out lender Bankia also agreed to pare backredundancies targeted in a restructuring, although it is stillcutting more than 4,000 jobs.
Spain's telecoms sector has suffered from depressed consumerconfidence in a prolonged recession, with clients cutting backon spending and switching to cheap virtual operators, which rentnetwork capacity from established operators.
Vodafone wrote down the value of its businesses in Spain andItaly by 5.9 billion pounds ($9.2 billion) in November.
It is weighing a bid for Germany's Kabel Deutschland to expand its services in the country, which is inbetter shape economically than its battered southern peers.
