55K Job Cuts: BT Group CEO Philip Jansen Defends Massive Layoffs, Says Did Not Suddenly Concoct Plan to Fire 55,000 Employees in 36 Hours
The UK telecommunication giant BT Group, which has announced to slash a massive 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade, did not suddenly concoct a plan in the last 36 hours and announced it to the world, its CEO Philip Jansen has said.
London, May 19: The UK telecommunication giant BT Group, which has announced to slash a massive 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade, did not suddenly concoct a plan in the last 36 hours and announce it to the world, its CEO Philip Jansen has said.
The telecom company, which has around 130,000 employees as of today, will move to a total workforce of between 75,000 and 90,000 people. Accenture Layoffs: Tech Firm Slashes 549 Jobs At Domain Offices in This Country.
"There is no surprise on the jobs. This is not a new plan that we suddenly concocted in the last 36 hours and announced it, right. This is the plan that we have been working on for a long-time," Jansen told analysts during the company's earnings call on Thursday.
He said that the company did not announce this before "because we wanted to get some runs on the board in terms of delivery of performance, both in terms of build and provisioning, but also efficiencies and I think we've done enough of that".
On AI and job threats, the BT CEO said that there will be new jobs as a result of new technologies. 55k Jobs Cut Due to AI: BT Announces Layoffs, UK Telecom Giant Plans To Fire 55,000 Employees by 2030 and Focus on Artificial Intelligence.
"We don't know yet, no one does, but anytime there's been a big jump in technology, new jobs appear, new things, and they will appear and we'll be able to participate in that. For now, we've got to get those efficiencies," said Jansen.
The company is aiming to enable growth by transferring productivity and customer outcomes through digitising, automating and reskilling of its workforce.
"We will show measurable progress through fewer business applications and reduce reliance on legacy networks, both to a tiny fraction of today's level by the end of the decade. Future BT will be more efficient and need fewer people," said the company.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 11:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).