Euronews: Telefonica's Layoffs Bill Shock

Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF), Orange (NYSE: FTE) and ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) start the week in today's EMEA regional roundup.

Telefónica is claiming that the cost of laying off 6,500 staff in Spain will be €2.7 billion (US$3.82 billion), which equates to an eyebrow-raising €415,000 ($587,000) per person. (See Telefonica Takes $3.8B Hit and Euronews: Telefonica to Cut 6,500 Jobs.)

France Telecom is looking to buy the majority stake in African mobile operator Congo Chine Telecom sarl. , which currently belongs to Chinese giant ZTE, reports Bloomberg. In 2010 France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard stated that he wanted to double the carrier's revenues in Africa and the Middle East over the following five years. (See France Telecom Buys Into Meditel, Scrambling for Africa, M&A-Style and FT Unveils New Action Plan.)

The BBC is turning to 'crowdsourcing' to try to establish the true nature of mobile network coverage in the U.K. Android smartphone owners are being urged to download an app, developed by Epitiro , which will allow them to accurately record street-level coverage and then add their input to the overall picture.

Etisalat , the largest carrier in the United Arab Emirates, reported second-quarter profits of 1.59 billion dirhams ($433 million), down 14.9 percent year-on-year, reports Reuters. Etisalat largely attributes the slide to higher operating costs. (See Etisalat Posts Q2, Preps LTE Launch and The UAE's Fiber-Filled Future.)

Orange, the mobile brand owned by France Telecom, has announced a partnership with Dailymotion , the unfortunately named video-sharing platform. Under the terms of the agreement, the Orange Advertising Network will offer localized ads within Dailymotion's video content in the U.K., Spain, Poland and Latin America. (See Euronews: Jan. 24.)

It may not be the chipmaker's proudest boast, but ARM Ltd. has been pronounced the busiest 'tweeter' of all Britain's blue-chip companies, according to the Daily Telegraph. Now get back to work you lot!

Elsehwere in EMEA:

• Everything Everywhere CEO Resigns

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading