BT Group, Britain's largest broadband and mobile service provider, has announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs by 2030. This number is 40 percent of the total workforce, including contractual workers of the company. These workers will be cut over the next seven years to adapt to new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).
BT Group is working through a transformational plan to roll out high-speed 5G mobile services in addition to building a national fiber network under the supervision of its chief executive (CEO) Philip Janssen.
Philipp Janssen says BT Group wants to bring automation to the way it works. AI wants to work through technology. Because of this, by the end of the 2020s, the company's workforce will be greatly reduced and costs will be reduced.
Philip also said that the company currently has 130,000 employees. About 30,000 of these are contractual workers. The number of these workers will be reduced from 75 thousand to 90 thousand in the fiscal year 2030. He said, it is an ongoing process. However, this process will be completed within five to seven years.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) says layoffs are "not surprising" given the changes in infrastructure and technology. But negotiations between BT and CWU were needed to make the matter simple. BT should reduce contract staff by retaining permanent staff.
Earlier on Tuesday, BT Group's rival Vodafone announced last Tuesday that they will lay off 11,000 workers worldwide to survive in the competitive market.
The world's major technology companies have begun to emphasize artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence—AI). The impact is going to fall directly on the employees. Because, organizations are moving towards AI technology by laying off workers. The American technology company International Business Machines Corporation or IBM has stopped recruiting employees. In the next few years, the company will lay off 7,800 employees and hire artificial intelligence.
Late last month, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in an interview that they are looking at cutting one-third of the company's workforce. Because those workers are now redundant due to the advancement of artificial intelligence.
