British telecom giant BT to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030

LONDON — U.K. telecommunications giant BT Group said Thursday it will cut between 40,000 to 55,000 of its workforce between 2028 and 2030.

The layoffs, which will include both direct BT employees and third-party workers, will mark a 31-42% reduction in company staffing.

“By continuing to build and connect like fury, digitise the way we work and simplify our structure, by the end of the 2020s BT Group will rely on a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base. New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future,” BT Chief Executive Philip Jansen said in a statement.

BT’s last large-scale workforce reduction saw the company announce in 2018 that it would slash 13,000 posts over a three-year period.

The announcement comes just as BT Group on early Thursday reported a 5% increase to £7.9 billion ($9.8 billion) of adjusted core earnings for the full year leading to March, citing growth in its Openreach network arm and consumers, which offset a decline in enterprise performance.

Pre-tax profit hit £1.73 billion, down 12% on the back of higher depreciation from network builds and specific items, about which no further details were disclosed.

The company expects pro forma EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) growth in 2024, along with a capital expenditure of £5 billion to £5.1 billion.

It anticipates it will be a “significant beneficiary of the UK Government’s full expensing scheme” between the 2024-2026 financial year period and pay no U.K. cash tax over the next three years.

BT shares were down 8% by 9:30 a.m. London time.