Virgin Media O2 to slash 2,000 jobs as it tries to rid itself of billions in debt
Virgin Media O2 has revealed plans to slash 2,000 jobs by the end of the year.
The telecoms giant issued redundancy notices yesterday evening as part of their effort to streamline operations.
The cuts, which include around 800 previously reported job reductions, will affect over 12 per cent of the company’s current workforce.
Virgin Media O2 is still battling £20.2bn of debt and seeking £350m of annual cost savings following its £31bn merger two years ago.
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said the company is “currently consulting on proposals to simplify our operating model to better deliver for customers, which will see a reduction in some roles this year”.
“While we know any period of change can be difficult, we are committed to supporting all of our people and are working closely with the CWU and Prospect along with our internal employee representatives as we have open and honest conversations on the future direction of our business,” the spokesperson added.
The move comes after rival firm BT announced earlier this year that it will also axe thousands of jobs, aiming to reduce its total workforce from 130,000 to between 75,000 and 90,000 by the end of the decade.
“There’s no way of dressing this up,” said Paolo Pescatore, independent media analyst at PP Foresight. “It is not good news for UK plc and we can expect to see further cost cutting measures across the industry.”
As telcos struggle to generate revenue, “margins continue to be squeezed due to rollout of next generation of networks and people are reluctant to spend more on connectivity,” he explained.
“We’ve seen a correction in workforce across all sectors, most notably big tech. We are now starting to see this transcend into other verticals. Telco is not immune and with significant technological developments around the corner; this will further fuel job cuts.”