BT cuts 7,731 jobs as cost drive lifts half-year profit 12%

BT has cut 7,731 jobs since the end of March, reducing its workforce to 90,000 as the UK telecoms group pushes ahead with sweeping cost reductions across the business.

The figure excludes staff in BT's international business, which is being spun out into a joint venture with the US telecoms company Verizon. Two years ago the group had a workforce of about 130,000 people, including contractors.

Most of the cuts have come at Openreach, BT's broadband network division, where the buildout of its fibre network is slowing. The company is also pursuing a drive to cut billions of pounds in costs by 2030.

Profit rises and shares hit five-year high

The reductions helped BT increase pre-tax profit by 12% year on year to £1.1bn in the six months to the end of September. Its London-listed shares rose by as much as 6% in early trading on Thursday, touching a five-year high and ranking the company among the best performers on the FTSE 100.

Chief executive Allison Kirkby, who had been a BT board member and took the top job in February 2024, has overseen the cost-cutting programme. This year she said BT would raise its savings target from £3bn by 2029 to £3.7bn by 2030.

The group now expects its headcount to end the decade at between 75,000 and 80,000 — towards the lower end of the 75,000 to 90,000 range it set out in 2023. At that time it said the introduction of AI across its business could result in the elimination of the equivalent of about 10,000 roles.

Kirkby's pay and bonus package more than doubled last year to £5.6m, the biggest pay award to a boss of the telecoms company in more than a decade. BT shares have risen by more than 70% since she started in the role.

She has also overseen the £400m takeover of BT's struggling smaller rival TalkTalk. She said on Thursday she was unable to provide any details on plans for the business because the deal was still under regulatory review.

TalkTalk, which is headquartered in Salford in Greater Manchester, employs about 900 people. The rescue deal secured telecoms supply to 2.5m households and vital public sector customers including hospitals and schools.

Virgin Media O2, which had also looked at buying TalkTalk, reacted angrily to the deal at the time, calling it a "stitch-up" that it said would further boost BT's dominant position.

BT is the biggest broadband provider in the UK, with a market share of about 30%, according to estimates by Enders Analysis. Openreach is TalkTalk's biggest supplier.

The company told investors on Thursday it had record demand for Openreach's full-fibre network, so far rolled out to 24.1m homes. It is targeting 25m by the end of the year.

Virgin Media O2 announced plans earlier this week to cut thousands of jobs in an £800m savings drive.

Source: The Guardian Business.