Virgin Media O2 staff face a redundancy risk as the telecoms firm looks to cut costs, according to the BBC. The broadband provider has not finalised how many roles will go, but the BBC understands the cuts are likely to be a sizeable share of its 16,000 workforce.
The BBC reports that most affected staff will be in non-customer facing roles, and that several senior leadership changes are already under way. The firm is also expected to review its use of contractors and suppliers alongside the cuts. Sky News first reported the job cuts.
Virgin Media O2 declined to comment. The Prospect union, which represents staff, called the cuts "disappointing and very unsettling." Deputy general secretary Noel McClean said the union is "committed to supporting our members through what is a difficult time," and is working with employers to reduce the number of redundancies and secure retraining and redeployment for affected staff.
According to the firm's latest accounts, as of 30 June, Virgin Media O2 had total debt of £27.2bn and assets worth £45.9bn.
The company faces competition from BT, which has been given regulatory permission to acquire TalkTalk. Virgin Media O2 opposed that move and called it a "stitch-up." The firm is also competing with smaller "altnet" providers such as Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Gigaclear and YouFibre. The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally found competition concerns with Virgin Media O2's proposed £2bn purchase of altnet Netomnia, through the joint venture nexfibre. A final decision is due in December.
The Financial Times reported that Virgin Media O2 is close to agreeing a deal to use BT's fibre broadband network. The BBC has been told the deal is very close and that Virgin Media O2 is highly likely to announce it will stop all investment in fibre in its results on Tuesday.