UK telecoms firm BT to axe up to 55,000 jobs by 2030

British telecoms and television group BT said Thursday it would axe up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade to slash costs in the latest tech-sector jobs cull.

The layoffs, comprising 42 per cent of BT’s workforce, come two days after UK mobile phone giant Vodafone unveiled plans to cut 11,000 jobs or one tenth of staff over three years.

BT employs 130,000 staff, including contractors.

The group will lower this to between 75,000 and 90,000 people over the next five to seven years, it said in a results statement.

The grim news follows the axing this year of tens of thousands of jobs across the global tech sector, including by Facebook parent Meta, as soaring inflation saps the world economy.