Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs to reduce costs

Virgin Media O2 is set to cut thousands of jobs as it battles billions of pounds of debt and intensifying competition. The telecoms firm has not finalised the exact number of roles to be axed, but the BBC understands the cuts will hit a sizeable chunk of its 16,000-strong workforce.

Union response and restructuring plan

The Prospect union, which represents Virgin Media O2 staff, called the cuts “disappointing and very unsettling”. Deputy general secretary Noel McClean said the union was “committed to supporting our members through what is a difficult time”, while also working with the employer to mitigate redundancies through retraining and redeployment. Most affected staff are in non-customer-facing roles, and senior leadership changes are already under way.

Virgin Media O2 is also expected to review its use of contractors and suppliers alongside the job losses. The company declined to comment. Its latest accounts show total liabilities of £27.2bn against assets of £45.9bn as of 30 June.

The broadband provider faces fierce competition from cheaper alternative networks such as Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Gigaclear and YouFibre. It attempted to respond by buying altnet competitor Netomnia for £2bn through nexfibre, a joint venture owned by its shareholders. But the Competition and Markets Authority provisionally found competition concerns in that deal, with a final decision due in December.

Virgin Media O2 has also clashed with BT over the latter’s agreed takeover of TalkTalk, calling it a “stitch-up” that let BT tighten its grip on the market. BT said its deal provided a safety net for TalkTalk customers facing collapse. On Friday, BT’s share price jumped 7% after reports that Virgin Media O2 was close to using BT’s fibre network. The BBC has been told a deal is very close, and Virgin Media O2 is highly likely to announce it will stop all fibre investment in its results on Tuesday.