U.K. telecom company BT plans to shed up to 55,000 jobs, replace some with AI

LONDON –

U.Okay. telecom firm BT Group mentioned Thursday that it plans to shed as much as 55,000 jobs by the tip of the last decade and exchange a few of them with synthetic intelligence, as a part of an overhaul geared toward slimming down its workforce to slash prices.

BT, which has 130,000 staff together with each employees and contractors, mentioned in its newest earnings report that its variety of workers could be decreased to between 75,000 and 90,000 by 2030.

“By the end of the 2020s, BT Group will rely on a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base,” CEO Philip Jansen mentioned. “New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future.”

Tech and telecom corporations have been reducing jobs because the trade undergoes a painful shakeup amid flagging financial progress and surging inflation. U.Okay.-based wi-fi provider Vodafone, which operates in Europe and Africa, mentioned days earlier that it is shedding 11,000 staff as a part of a serious revamp.

BT, a former state monopoly beforehand referred to as British Telecom, will remove about 10,000 jobs by means of digitization, automation and using AI in its processes.

“That’s about using technology to do things much more efficiently,” Jansen mentioned.

The cuts additionally embody 15,000 jobs constructing fiber-optic broadband and 5G cell networks and 10,000 servicing and repairing them. Once these networks are absolutely rolled out, BT will not want as many staff to construct or keep them.

“All the equipment’s simpler and newer and more flexible, more nimble. And we’ve got AI and all the data that can help create self-healing networks,” Jansen mentioned. “So we’re going to be a massive beneficiary on efficiency and costs, which is why we know we won’t need all these roles in the future.”

Jansen mentioned 5,000 jobs will likely be misplaced by means of “conventional restructuring.” BT would work with union companions because it cuts jobs and likewise depend on attrition, he mentioned.