British Telecom To Lay Off 55,000 Workers By 2030

British Telecom (BT) Group is planning to slash up to 55,000 jobs in five to seven years as it makes greater use of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to cut costs and simplify its business, Hanna Ziady reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: The UK telecom company said that its total workforce would fall to between 75,000 and 90,000 by 2028-2030, from 130,000 at present.

The UK telecom company said that its total workforce would fall to between 75,000 and 90,000 by 2028-2030, from 130,000 at present. That includes BT employees and contractors supplied by a third party.

“By continuing to build and connect like fury, digitize 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,” CEO Philip Jansen said in a statement.

On a call with analysts, Jansen added that 10,000 roles would be replaced by digitization and automation. “We will be a beneficiary of AI unequivocally,” he said, noting that the technology would help the company deliver customer service “in a more seamless way."

"Our chatbot Amy deals with lots of customer queries already,” he added.

BT was beginning to explore new products and services that might come from “generative AI and large language model AIs.”

Earlier this week, Vodafone (VOD), once the world’s biggest mobile telecom group, said it would cut 11,000 jobs, or about 11% of its workforce, over three years. The company also unveiled a turnaround plan to revive its ailing fortunes under new CEO Margherita Della Valle.

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