Thousands of jobs at Virgin Media O2 to be cut

Virgin Media O2 is considering significant job cuts across its 16,000-strong workforce to reduce costs amid £27.2bn of debt and intensifying competition, although the number of roles has not been finalised. Most affected employees are expected to be in non-customer-facing roles, and senior leadership changes are already under way. The Prospect union called the cuts “disappointing and very unsettling” and said it would seek to mitigate redundancies and support retraining and redeployment. The telecoms provider also faces competition from alternative broadband networks and a UK competition watchdog review of its proposed Netomnia acquisition.