The company was founded in Newbury in 1982 and has become synonymous with the Berkshire market town. It still remains the town's largest employer even after staff cuts have seen its numbers trimmed down to about 3,000.
Newbury over the years became known as "Vodafone City" after the mobile phone operator went on to build a large headquarters on the town's outskirts.
Vodafone announced a new £1bn cost-cutting programme in 2009, reducing the number of people working for the company's UK operations in back-office and middle management functions.
