Virgin Media O2 is cutting thousands of UK jobs

Virgin Media O2 has joined rivals BT and Vodafone in cutting jobs, as it announces slashing its total workforce by more than a tenth.

According to the BBC, the operator is culling 2,000 UK jobs, equivalent to around 2% of its total workforce. The process is expected to be done by the end of 2023, and includes the 800 positions the company announced it would be cutting earlier this year.

A spokesperson for Virgin Media O2 said any period of change “can be difficult”, the BBC reported: "As we continue to integrate and transform as a company, we are currently consulting on proposals to simplify our operating model to better deliver for customers, which will see a reduction in some roles this year,” they said.

A national trend

The news means three of the four major telecoms providers in the UK have announced job cuts as part of restructuring their operations.

Both Vodafone and BT have also announced losses, with the latter saying it would be cutting as many as 55,000 jobs, with the process set to take at least another seven years.

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BT Chief Executive Officer Philip Jansen said that by the end of this decade, the company will have a "much smaller workforce" and a "significantly reduced cost base". In the next decade, BT will be “a leaner business with a brighter future,” Jansen added. The media are also saying that BT is focused on expanding its fiber network which, unlike the current copper network, will be more reliable and would require less maintenance. Just migrating to fiber could help BT reduce its workforce by 15,000 people.

Vodafone, on the other hand, said that it expects a tenth of its workforce to be slashed in the next three years, which equals some 11,000 jobs.

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