{
  "id": 17936931,
  "title": "Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs as it plans £800m cost savings",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/virgin-media-o2-to-cut-thousands-of-jobs-as-it-plans-800m-cost-savings",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-03T08:21:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/nov/03/virgin-media-o2-cut-jobs-cost-savings-telecoms-ai"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Telecoms giant Virgin Media O2 is set to embark on a major restructuring plan, with up to 25% of its workforce of 16,000 employees potentially facing redundancy. The company, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, is aiming to cut costs by £800m and reduce its £22bn debt through this cost-cutting drive. A significant portion of these savings—£300m—will be achieved by reducing the workforce by 30% over the next two years, although the exact number of job losses remains undisclosed.\n\nThe majority of the layoffs are expected to impact non-customer facing roles, as the company plans to harness the power of artificial intelligence in customer service, network planning, and fault management. Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schüler emphasized the necessity of these decisions, stating that \"standing still and doing what we’ve always done is not an option\" and that the company must innovate to secure its future growth. The cost-cutting measures also involve reducing the reliance on contractors and reviewing supplier contracts.\n\nIn addition to workforce reductions, Virgin Media O2 is cutting capital expenditure by suspending investments in network upgrades beyond existing commitments. The company is also exploring wholesale deals to expand its services to more homes, with reports suggesting a potential agreement with BT’s Openreach to increase its coverage from 19 million to potentially 25 million homes. Schüler concluded, \"The direction we’re setting today paves the way for the next chapter of Virgin Media O2: a company that will be leaner, clearer on priorities and faster in delivery.\"",
  "summary": "Up to 25% of 16,000 workforce could go as telecoms group says it will increase use of AI in areas including customer service Business live – latest updates Virgin Media O2 is to cut thousands of jobs in an £800m cost-cutting drive as the telecommunications company aims to tackle its £22bn debt pile. VMO2, which is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, said £300m of the savings target…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Thousands of jobs at Virgin Media O2 to be cut",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/thousands-of-jobs-at-virgin-media-o2-to-be-cut",
        "published": "2026-11-01T16:57:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Thousands of jobs at Virgin Media O2 to be cut",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/thousands-of-jobs-at-virgin-media-o2-to-be-cut",
        "published": "2026-11-02T02:44:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "City AM",
        "title": "Virgin Media O2 job cuts could save £200m but fail to ease debt crisis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/virgin-media-o2-job-cuts-could-save-200m-but-fail-to-ease-debt-crisis",
        "published": "2026-11-02T12:28:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "UK's Virgin Media O2 to slash jobs, halt fibre roll-out",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/uks-virgin-media-o2-to-slash-jobs-halt-fibre-roll-out",
        "published": "2026-11-03T07:47:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Sky News",
        "title": "Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs in bid to reduce costs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/virgin-media-o2-to-cut-thousands-of-jobs-in-bid-to-reduce-costs",
        "published": "2026-11-03T11:17:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Silicon Republic",
        "title": "Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs in major cost-saving drive",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/virgin-media-o2-to-cut-thousands-of-jobs-in-major-cost-saving-drive",
        "published": "2026-11-03T11:50:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}