BT to cut up to 42% of workforce by the end of the decade

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BT to cut up to 42% of its workforce by the end of the decade as the UK telecoms group embarks on its most radical cost-cutting since being privatized in the 1980s.

The FTSE 100 group said on Thursday it would cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs, including employees and third-party contractors, by 2030. The group’s current workforce stands at 130,000 including third-party contractors.

Faced with rising costs and an array of underperforming businesses, BT it had already embarked on a cost-cutting program. The group said it had achieved £2.1bn in cost savings against a £3bn target.

Under the plan, about 30,000 of the roles to be eliminated will be third-party contractors, according to a person familiar with the matter. The cuts will include 15,000 fiber engineers and 10,000 maintenance workers, the person said, with another 10,000 shed by ramping up digitization and automation at BT.

“By continuing to build and connect in a fury, digitizing the way we work and simplifying our structure, BT Group will have a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base by the end of 2020,” said the managing director Philip Jansen.

“The new BT Group will be a leaner company with a brighter future,” he added.

BT’s move to deepen its cost cuts came as the former monopoly reported full-year profit and revenue that beat analyst expectations. Group revenue fell 1% to £20.7 billion on a forecast of £20.5 billion.

Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 5% to £7.9 billion, buoyed by above-inflation price increases for some clients’ contracts.