BT announces up to 55,000 job cuts and issues statement about future of new Sheffield office

The telecoms giant today said it will axe the posts by the end of the decade in a bid to cut costs. The firm, which employs 130,000, reported a 12 percent drop in profits of £1.7bn for the year to April.

BT last year announced plans to move 1,000 workers into a brand new building in Sheffield city centre in ‘the largest office letting in the city in six years’. It said then Endeavour on Sheaf Street would open its doors at the end of this year. Now, in light of the job cuts news, the firm has issued a statement about its future.

A spokesman said: “This is all more of a long-term picture of how the company may change in the next seven or eight years, so it would be too early to be able to say specifically what it could mean for any individual regions or cities. But we announced our plans for Endeavour at the end of last year and that remains the case. There’s no change to the plans we’ve announced and things are still moving forwards with the development.”

BT is the UK’s biggest broadband and mobile provider. It said the number of people affected, which is 55,000 as the top estimate, will be made up of their own employees as well as third party contractors. The current workforce of 130,000 includes 30,000 non-staff.

But chief executive Philip Jansen said at the end of 2020s, the firm would have a “much smaller workforce” and a “significantly reduced cost base”.

The Communication Workers Union held a series of strikes last year over pay at the company. An agreement was struck with BT in November, but they are yet to respond to the announcement. More recently, BT has embarked on a 5G and broadband rollout and has reportedly benefited from digital trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). Its use of next-generation full-fibre and 5G networks in the UK means fewer engineers are needed.