Spain - Telefonica to cover costs of early retirement scheme.

(From Telecompaper Europe)

Telefonica and other profitable Spanish companies will have to cover the costs of their early retirement schemes, so as to diminish the burden on the state budget, according to Spanish finance minister Elena Salgado. "Any profitable company will have the right to reorganize itself, but that particular company will also have to bear the cost," Salgado said in a radio interview with Cadena Ser, cited by Europa Press. The statement follows Telefonica's recently announced plans to cut nearly 20 percent of its workforce in Spain within the next three years. Profitable companies such as Telefonica should contribute to the costs borne by the state …