Virgin Media O2 is considering job cuts that could affect thousands of employees, the BBC reported on November 1. The company has not settled on a number, but the broadcaster understands that a substantial portion of its 16,000-person workforce could be affected.
The telecoms company declined to comment. Its efforts to reduce costs come amid pressure from debt and competition from BT and smaller broadband providers, including Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Gigaclear and YouFibre.
The company’s latest accounts put total debt at £27.2 billion as of June 30, against assets of £45.9 billion.
Prospect, which represents Virgin Media O2 staff, expressed concern about the potential redundancies. Deputy general secretary Noel McClean said the union would support members and work with employers to limit job losses and seek retraining or redeployment for affected workers.
According to Sky News reporting cited by the BBC, most affected positions would be outside customer-facing operations. Sky also reported that senior leadership changes were under way and that the company was expected to examine spending on contractors and suppliers.
The cost-cutting plans coincide with a possible shift in network strategy. The Financial Times reported that Virgin Media O2 was nearing an agreement to use BT’s fibre network after halting upgrades and expansion of its own infrastructure. The BBC separately reported being told that an agreement was close and that Virgin Media O2 was highly likely to announce a halt to all fibre investment in its results on Tuesday. Neither step was presented as completed.