LONDON: British mobile phone giant Vodafone on Tuesday said it planned to axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years as new chief executive Margherita Della Valle seeks a “simpler” organisation.

“Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change,” Della Valle said in a statement.

“We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness,” added Della Valle, appointed CEO on a permanent basis at the start of May after five months as interim boss.

Her predecessor Nick Read stepped down in early December after a four-year tenure marked by a steep fall in the company’s share price.

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He left with Vodafone in talks over merging its UK operations with rival Three UK, owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.

Media reports say a deal worth £15 billion ($18.7 billion) is close to completion.