- by Tom Espiner
- Business reporter for BBC News
Telecom giant BT plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs in the UK and globally by the end of 2010 to cut costs.
Up to a fifth of these savings will go to customer service as workers are replaced by technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Staff and contractors will also be cut from the current workforce of 130,000.
Chief Executive Philip Jansen said BT will have “a lot fewer” employees by the end of the 2020s.
BT’s announcement comes after it reported a profit of £1.7bn, down 12% in the year to April.
Jansen said BT will become a “leaner business with a brighter future”.
BT, the UK’s largest broadband and mobile provider, has announced it will cut 40,000 to 55,000 jobs by 2030.
The company is currently expanding its fiber optic network and will need about 15,000 fewer employees once that work is complete, a spokeswoman said.
As networks migrate from copper to fiber, they become more reliable and require less manpower to maintain both networks.
And newer, more efficient technologies, including artificial intelligence, mean fewer people are needed to serve customers, he said.
Staff cuts due to restructuring will increase further.
