A “Catch-Up Mentality”is what the new Vodafone Germany CEO Marcel de Groot is demanding. “It still surprises me a bit what has happened to Germany’s self-confidence lately. At times, I have the impression that Germany has let its virtues fade a bit”the Dutchman told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”(Monday edition). This, he said, is the case with the relationship between aspiration and willingness to deliver, which has gone off-kilter at some points.
“Sometimes, I have the feeling that the hammock has a better reputation than the blue man. The problem is: we can’t save the economy from the hammock”the manager said. He does not hold much of a four-day week in high esteem: “That’s like preparing for a world championship – and then training less.”
De Groot wants to bring his employees back to the office more frequently and is negotiating with the works councils to have at least two in-office days per week, with a 100% home office rule to be at least partly scrapped. “The employees want the turnaround. A turnaround, however, requires a sense of community. And such a culture is not created by clicking ‘join’ in Teams”de Groot said.
Vodafone had, in the past, faced challenges, such as complaints from cable customers during the Corona pandemic, the elimination of jobs and the loss of millions of customers in the TV business due to a change in the law. De Groot now wants to attack again, for example, by offering fast internet over cable. “With gigabit, we are the clear number one. VDSL internet over the Telekom’s copper lines has no future, it’s the end at low bandwidth. Germany should now take the chance to bid farewell to this snail internet”the Vodafone Germany CEO demanded.
In the mobile phone sector, de Groot sees “enormous price pressure.”However, in the end, it is the turnover and not the number of customers that counts. “There are some competitors who we have put under pressure. Now, they are trying to win customers with dumping prices. We don’t play that game”de Groot said.