Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs as it plans £800m cost savings
Up to 25% of 16,000 workforce could go as telecoms group says it will increase use of AI in areas including customer service Business live – latest updates Virgin Media O2 is to cu
By The Guardian
Virgin Media O2 is planning thousands of UK job cuts as part of a programme intended to save about £800m a year by 2029.
The telecommunications company employs about 16,000 people in the UK. It said around £300m of the planned savings would come from reducing the size of its workforce, equivalent to about 30% of its people costs over the next two years.
Virgin Media O2 has not confirmed the exact number of redundancies. Reports indicate the cuts could affect several thousand roles, with most expected to be in non-customer-facing areas, including head office, IT and support functions.
The company is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica and is seeking to reduce costs while dealing with a debt pile reported at about £22bn.
Further savings are expected to come from reducing the use of contractors, simplifying supplier arrangements and reviewing technology licences.
Virgin Media O2 also plans to increase its use of artificial intelligence and digital tools. The technology is expected to support areas including customer service, network planning, fault management and decision-making.
The company is targeting around £400m of annual savings in 2027, with the full £800m annual run rate expected by 2029. Further details are due to be provided alongside its full-year results, with most affected employees expected to be notified by February.