BT Group Plc’s plans to cut as many as 55,000 workers by the end of the decade can likely be accomplished with few mandatory layoffs because of how many people leave the company each year.
(Bloomberg) — BT Group Plc’s plans to cut as many as 55,000 workers by the end of the decade can likely be accomplished with few mandatory layoffs because of how many people leave the company each year.
The company’s attrition rate for its almost 100,000 full-time employees is about 9% to 10% per year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Bloxham. If that turnover also applies to its 30,000 or so contract workers, BT could meet its most ambitious job-cut targets, to eliminate 42% of its labor force, during the fiscal year ending in March 2029 without firing anyone.
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“In reality there will inevitably be some layoffs, but it’s likely to be noise,” Bloxham said.
“To make these reductions, we will rely heavily on natural attrition and allowing subcontractor work to fall away once projects are complete,” a BT spokesperson said.
BT announced on Thursday that it planned to slash its existing workforce to 75,000 to 90,000 people from a total of 130,000 employees and contractors over the next seven years. BT said more than 15,000 roles would end after those employees had replaced its slower, copper-based network with more reliable fiber optics by the end of 2026. At least 10,000 fewer people would be needed for running and maintaining that more efficient network.
BT Chief Executive Officer Philip Jansen emphasized that point in a conference call with analysts. “Fifteen-thousand roles, roughly, is about building networks. When it’s finished, it’s built. You only build it once, right?” he said.
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Jansen pledged to “take great care with our people so we don’t have the mass restructurings and compulsory redundancies.”
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