BT Sheds 7,731 Staff in Six Months as Pre-Tax Profit Rises 12%

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BT's headcount is down by almost 8,000 since March. Profit rose over the same period, and the share price touched a five-year high on results day.

Where the jobs went

The telecoms group said its workforce fell by 7,731 to 90,000. That figure leaves out the international business, which is being moved into a joint venture with Verizon of the US. Two years ago BT had about 130,000 people, contractors included.

Most of the cuts came at Openreach, where the buildout of the fibre network is slowing. The rest followed a drive to remove billions in costs by 2030.

What the market made of it

Pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of September rose 12% to £1.1bn. BT shares, listed in London, rose by up to 6% at the open on Thursday, reaching a five-year high and placing among the FTSE 100's top performers.

Allison Kirkby, a former board member, became chief executive in February 2024 and has overseen the programme. This year she said the savings target would rise from £3bn by 2029 to £3.7bn by 2030. Her pay with bonus for last year was more than twice the previous figure, at £5.6m, the largest award to a BT boss in more than a decade. Shares are up more than 70% since she started.

Smaller still by 2030

BT now expects to end the decade with 75,000 to 80,000 staff. That sits at the low end of the 75,000 to 90,000 range it set out in 2023. At the time it said AI across the business could remove the equivalent of about 10,000 roles.

The company also reported record demand for Openreach's full-fibre network. It has reached 24.1m homes and is aiming for 25m by the end of the year.

TalkTalk and a rival's cuts

Kirkby has also overseen the £400m takeover of the struggling TalkTalk. On Thursday she said she could not discuss plans for the business while regulators were still reviewing the deal. TalkTalk is based in Salford and employs about 900 people. Under the rescue, 2.5m households and public bodies such as hospitals and schools keep their telecoms supply.

Virgin Media O2, which had also looked at buying TalkTalk, called the deal a "stitch-up". Earlier this week it set out an £800m savings drive that will cost thousands of jobs.

Source: the Guardian