Virgin Media O2 plans to cut thousands of jobs as the telecoms firm addresses billions of pounds in debt and mounting competition. The company has not finalised the number of redundancies but they will be a "sizeable chunk" of its 16,000-strong workforce, the BBC understands. The majority of affected staff work in non-customer facing roles, and senior leadership changes are already underway.
VMO2 carries total debt of £27.2bn as of 30 June, according to its latest accounts. The firm faces competition from smaller providers including Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Gigaclear and YouFibre, as well as larger rivals like BT. BT gained regulatory approval to acquire TalkTalk, a deal VMO2 opposed.
The Prospect union, which represents VMO2 staff, said the cuts were "disappointing and very unsettling." Deputy general secretary Noel McClean said the union is "committed to supporting our members through what is a difficult time, as well as also working with employers to explore ways to mitigate the number of redundancies and ensure retraining and redeployment of staff affected."
VMO2 will also review its use of contractors and suppliers. The BBC understands the company is highly likely to announce it will stop all investment in fibre infrastructure in its results on Tuesday, after halting upgrades and expansion to ease concerns over its debt.