By Philipp Grontzki Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone Group PLC's (VOD.LN) German unit plans to transfer customer-care activities located in the city of Essen to Bertelsmann AG's Arvato service division, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday. A spokesman for Vodafone Germany didn't want to comment directly on the planned move, which would affect around 400 employees, but said talks with the workers' council are ongoing. An Arvato spokesman declined to comment. German newspaper Rheinische Post also reported about the plans. Vodafone Germany employs about 12,000 people and said last year that it was reviewing a possible outsourcing of services in Essen and Eschborn, near Frankfurt. Such a measure would potentially affect 600 Vodafone employees, who could be transferred to other businesses, a spokesman said at the time. Arvato reached a similar agreement over than a year ago with the German unit of Telefonica SA (TEF) regarding three service centers in the country. -By Philipp Grontzki, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 107; philipp.grontzki@dowjones.com
