Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs

Virgin Media O2 said Tuesday it would cut thousands of jobs as part of a cost-saving programme aimed at reducing expenses and debt.

The British telecoms group said it expected to save about £300 million in staff expenses as part of a wider plan to cut annual costs by about £800 million by 2029.

The company employs 16,000 people but did not confirm the exact number of job cuts. It said most losses over the next two years would come from head office restructuring, including senior leadership roles, rather than customer-facing jobs.

Virgin Media O2 said it expected greater use of AI tools and digital channels to improve efficiency and productivity. It said it had launched a voice AI agent to handle broadband fault calls.

The company said it would give further updates on the restructuring plan with its annual earnings release in February.

Virgin Media O2 reported third-quarter revenue down 5.7 percent from a year earlier to £2.4 billion. It returned to a net profit of £1.5 million in the July-September period but lost more than 23,000 customers across its internet and phone services.

The group said it would halt fibre network upgrades beyond existing commitments and review its use of contractors and suppliers. It has debt of more than £22 billion.