What was advertised as a merger between Vodafone and Three has felt like a incredibly hostile takeover. The integration process has systematically erased Three’s culture and legacy, alongside a massive reduction in headcount.
The consultation process felt ruthless and lacked transparency, seemingly designed to obscure the true scale of redundancies while making internal mobility nearly impossible for at-risk staff. HR/People teams are visibly overwhelmed by the volume of grievances and messy transitions.
Total reward packages have been severely downgraded. Legacy Three staff were re-graded into lower bands, denied annual pay increases, and stripped of basic perks like medical insurance. Furthermore, shifting the majority of new roles exclusively to Stoke feels like a deliberate strategy for "natural attrition," disproportionately impacting operations and staff in Scotland.
The culture is rigid, old-school, and hyper-focused on corporate micromanagement. Line managers are forced to prioritize endless trackers and strict office attendance over actual productivity. There is a massive disconnect between the company's stated values and its actual behavior toward its people.