UK telecom company BT Group to axe up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 after AI push

BT Group, Britain’s biggest broadband and mobile provider, will cut up to 55,000 jobs including contractors by 2030 – potentially over 40% of its workforce – as it completes its fibre roll-out and adapts to new technologies such as AI.

The company has been working through a transformation plan to build a national fibre network under boss Philip Jansen, as well as rolling out high-speed 5G mobile services.

The former state monopoly reported on Thursday pro forma revenue and core earnings growth for the first time in six years in the year to the end of March, but the cost of transforming the business, and the hit to its free cash flow took a toll, sending its shares down 7% in morning trade.