Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs as it plans £800m cost savings

Virgin Media O2 plans to cut thousands of jobs as part of an £800m cost-cutting drive aimed at tackling its £22bn debt pile. The telecom group, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, says £300m of the savings target will come from reducing its wage bill by 30% over the next two years through job cuts. It did not specify the exact headcount impact, but suggested it could be up to 25% of its 16,000-strong workforce. Most losses will come from non-customer-facing roles, while the company plans to increase AI use across customer service, network planning, and fault management. Additional savings through 2029 include fewer contractors and supplier reviews, plus halting full-fibre upgrades beyond existing partner commitments; it is also exploring wholesale deals, including a potential extension deal with BT’s Openreach from 19m to up to 25m homes.