Telecoms group BT has revealed plans to reduce its workforce by as much as 42% over the next seven years.
Announcing its annual results, the company said it expected its “total labour resource” — including BT employees and contractors — to shrink from the current 130,000 to between 75,000 and 90,000 by the end of the decade.
Once BT’s full fibre broadband and 5G networks are completed, it will not need as many staff to build and maintain the network. Meanwhile, fewer customer service staff will be needed as their roles will be replaced by technologies including artificial intelligence. Further job cuts will come from restructuring.
“By continuing to build and connect like fury, digitise the way we work and simplify our structure, by the end of the 2020s BT Group will rely on a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base,” said chief executive Philip Jansen. “New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future.”
For the 12 months to the end of March 2023, BT reported a 1% drop in revenue to £20.7bn.
Adjusted EBITDA grew 5% year-on-year to £7.9bn — its first growth in six years — but pre-tax profit fell 12% to £1.7bn, which the company attributed to “increased depreciation from network build and specific items, partially offset by adjusted EBITDA growth”.
