Харилцаа холбооны салбарын томоохон тоглогч Virgin Media O2 нь 22 тэрбум фунт стерлингийн өрийн дарамтыг бууруулах зорилгоор ойрын хоёр жилд ажиллах хүчээ 30 хувиар цомхотгож, зардлаа танахаар шийдвэрлэжээ.
Virgin Media O2 компанийн гүйцэтгэх захирал Лутц Шулер тус байгууллагын ирээдүйн өсөлт, амжилтыг хангах үүднээс энэхүү хүнд хэцүү шийдвэрийг гаргаж буйгаа мэдэгдэв. Компани нь үйлчлүүлэгчтэй харьцдаггүй салбаруудын ажлын байрыг голчлон цомхотгохоос гадна хиймэл оюун ухааны хэрэгслийг сүлжээний төлөвлөлт, алдааг засварлах үйл ажиллагаанд өргөнөөр нэвтрүүлэхээр төлөвлөж байна. Мөн гэрээт ажилтнуудын тоог бууруулж, ханган нийлүүлэлтийн гэрээнүүдээ эргэн харах замаар 2029 он гэхэд жил бүр 800 сая фунт стерлингийн хэмнэлт хийхээр зорьж байна.
Тус компани өрийн ачааллаа бууруулахын тулд сүлжээгээ бүрэн шилэн кабельд шилжүүлэх хөрөнгө оруулалтаа зогсоож, оронд нь 2025 оны эцэс гэхэд сүлжээний хурдыг 2Gbps хүртэл нэмэгдүүлэх хямд өртөгтэй шинэчлэлийг хэрэгжүүлэхээр болжээ. Түүнчлэн хувьцаа эзэмшигчдэд олгох ногдол ашгийн хэмжээг эргэн харж байгаа бөгөөд бүтцийн өөрчлөлттэй холбоотой 250 сая фунт стерлингийн зардал гарахаар байна.
Есдүгээр сарын эцэс хүртэлх улирлын тайлангаар Virgin Media O2 нь өргөн зурвасын интернэт болон гар утасны хэрэглэгчдийнхээ тоог алдсан үзүүлэлттэй гарчээ. Одоогоор тус компани нь BT-ийн Openreach-тэй хамтран үйлчилгээний хүрээгээ 19 саяас 25 сая өрх болгон өргөжүүлэх хэлэлцээ хийж байгаа бөгөөд салбарын өрсөлдөөний зохицуулагчидтай холбоотой сорилтуудтай нүүр тулж байна.
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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 will come from job cuts that will reduce the company’s employee wage bill by 30% over the next two years.
The company did not specify how many jobs this will equate to, but it could be as many as 25% of its 16,000 workforce.
The company, which said that most of the job losses will come from non-customer facing roles, said it intends to increase the use of AI tools in areas including customer service, network planning and fault management.
“While we will give a fuller update on the new strategic plan in the coming months, we are already progressing and making difficult decisions to prioritise investments and reduce costs which includes the size of our workforce,” said the VMO2 chief executive, Lutz Schüler.
“Standing still and doing what we’ve always done is not an option and while many of these decisions are tough, they are necessary for our future success and growth. Virgin Media O2 must evolve, and the action needed to make that happen starts now.”
The cost-cutting plans, which will save £800m annually by 2029, also include making savings by reducing the use of contractors and reviewing suppliers and supply chain contracts.
VMO2 has also moved to reduce capital expenditure by halting investment in upgrading its network to full fibre, which is 50% complete, beyond existing commitments it has with partners.
Instead the company will make a low-cost upgrade that will see most of the network that has not transitioned to full fibre improved to 2Gbps speeds by the end of next year.
VMO2 also said it is exploring wholesale deals to expand its services in areas its network does not cover, confirming reports that it is close to a deal with BT’s Openreach to extend its footprint from 19m to potentially 25m homes.
The company also looks poised to slash its dividend saying that it is “reviewing options” relating to cash distributions to shareholders this year.
The business said it expects to incur £250m in restructuring costs.
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The cuts were announced alongside VMO2’s latest results which showed the company shed 23,300 broadband and 7,800 consumer mobile customers, in the quarter to the end of September.
“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,” Schuler said.
The cuts were announced alongside VMO2’s latest results which showed the company shed 23,300 broadband and 7,800 consumer mobile customers in the quarter to the end of September.
Earlier this month, VMO2 lashed out at a decision to fast-track BT’s £400m rescue of TalkTalk, while at the same time the UK competition regulator has signalled that it might block the £2bn takeover of Netomnia by Nexfibre, whose investors include Liberty Global and Telefonica.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that its preference is for Netomnia to be bought by CityFibre – to create a stronger third challenger to Openreach – but it has a significant debt pile and is in restructure talks with lenders.
Earlier this month, O2 struck a record deal thought to be in the region of £200m to retain the naming rights to the London venue the O2 until at least 2038.
