25 Average number of employees and personnel costs

The average headcount increased by 5.0 % compared with the prior year. It decreased in Germany by 4.7 % due in particular to efficiency enhancement measures and the take-up of socially responsible instruments in connection with staff restructuring in the Germany operating segment and the domestic parts of the Group Headquarters & Group Services segment and in the Systems Solutions operating segment. By contrast, the average headcount outside Germany increased by 13.0 %, driven mainly by the integration of Sprint employees following the business combination of T‑Mobile US and Sprint in the United States. Furthermore, the international share increased in most segments – with the exception of the Europe operating segment, in which the average international headcount fell by 7.7 %, and the Group Development operating segment, with a slight decline of 2.3 % in the Netherlands.

Personnel costs increased by 12.7 % year-on-year, mainly due to the business combination of T‑Mobile US and Sprint in the United States operating segment, with the associated increases in headcount and the related expenses in connection with the integration. In all other segments, lower headcounts resulted in reduced personnel costs. The agreed salary increases from the collective agreements concluded in 2020 had an offsetting effect. All segments with the exception of Group Headquarters & Group Services and Group Development also recorded (in some cases substantial) increases in expenses for restructuring measures.