BT has announced it will be reducing its workforce by up to 40% by the end of the decade. Given that its current workforce of employees and contractors is roughly 130,000 strong, that would mean up to 55,000 people may be laid off.
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.
New hardware and software
Furthermore, BT will be adding more artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for its customer support department, which will also help it cut down on staff. Finally, general company restructuring will also help it reduce its workforce.
In its latest yearly earnings report, the company reported a 12% decrease in profit, hitting £1.7bn.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Vodafone is looking to reduce its workforce by roughly 10%, or 11,000 jobs. The process would take roughly three years. Vodafone’s new CEO Margherita della Valle said the company was looking to “simplify” itself, and job cuts are part of that plan, as she claims the company’s performance “has not been good enough”.
“To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change,” she said. “My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organization, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness.”
The company recently reported €45.7 billion in sales, a small rise, but also reported a fall in pre-tax profits, leading analysts to expect a “broadly flat” financial year for the company.
Via: BBC (opens in new tab)
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