Telecoms giant Virgin Media O2 will axe thousands of UK jobs and turn to AI in an £800m cost-cutting drive

Virgin Media O2 is cutting up to 25% of its 16,000-strong UK workforce as it contends with a £22bn debt pile, falling revenues and fierce competition from rivals including BT. Service revenue fell 3.5% in the three months to September, while the company shed a further 23,300 net fixed-line customers. CEO Lutz Schüler said the firm must evolve, adding that "standing still and doing what we've always done is not an option."

Around £300m of the £800m savings target will come from slashing labour costs by 30% by 2029, hitting back-office, IT and head office roles hardest.

The company is also halting its fibre roll-out, blaming what it calls a "paradoxical regulatory direction in fibre that does not reflect economic reality."

AI is set to take over customer service, network planning and fault management functions, with a fuller strategic update promised in coming months.