Vodafone Spain has announced plans to cut 1,198 jobs, following its recent takeover by UK investment firm Zegona.

The number represents around a third of Vodafone's total workforce in the country.

Zegona, which was founded in 2015 by former Virgin Media executives Eamonn O'Hare and Robert Samuelson, finalized its €5 billion ($5.4bn) acquisition of Vodafone at the end of last month. As part of the agreement, the telco will continue to use the Vodafone brand for the next 10 years.

In a statement, Vodafone said it plans to hold a consultation process with employees who could be impacted.

Spanish union UGT has slammed the plans.

"The voracity of a management incapable of devising real solutions to the real problems that have afflicted Vodafone Spain, and the inaction of an administration that did not ask for any guarantee for employment in the approval of the sale of Vodafone Spain to Zegona, come together," said UGT.

Vodafone is Spain's third-largest mobile operator with around 13.5 million mobile customers in the country.

However, in the last two years, its total revenues in Spain have dropped by eight percent, with the company also losing around 400,000 contract customers.

The telco has previously failed to secure a merger with MásMóvil, as MásMóvil instead struck a merger deal with Orange.

Vodafone sold its Spanish business as part of the telco's strategy to consolidate its operations in Europe.

In the last few months, Vodafone has also agreed to sell its Italian business to Swisscom for €8 billion ($8.7bn).