Vodafone to create 1400 jobs in Britain

Mobile phone giant Vodafone on Thursday announced plans to open 150 shops in Britain over the next year, creating 1,400 jobs in the process. The plan forms part of a £1.0 billion ($1.7 billion, 1.2 billion euros) investment programme, the British group said in a statement. "Vodafone has today unveiled plans to ramp up its UK investment programme with the opening of 150 new shops and the creation of 1,400 new retail roles over the next 12 months," it said. Prime Minister David Cameron described the announcement as a "fantastic vote of confidence in the UK workforce". Vodafone added: "The £100 million boost to the UK's high street forms parts of Vodafone's plans to invest £1 billion in 2014 in the networks and services relied upon by its more than 19 million UK customers."