Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs and halt fibre rollout in £800m savings drive

Briefing by News4U · First published 2026-11-03 12:16:34 UTC

Virgin Media O2, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, announced plans to cut thousands of jobs and halt further full-fibre rollout beyond existing commitments as part of an £800m annual cost-saving programme by 2029. The company aims to reduce its employee wage bill by 30% over two years, with most cuts in non-customer-facing roles, and will increase AI use in customer service, network planning and fault management. It is also exploring wholesale deals, including with BT’s Openreach, to expand coverage from 19m to potentially 25m homes. [1] [2] [3]

Sources

1. Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs to save costs

   RTÉ Business · 2026-11-03 07:58:35 UTC · Full text

2. Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs as it plans £800m cost savings

   The Guardian Business · 2026-11-03 08:21:45 UTC · Full text

3. Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs in bid to reduce costs

   Sky News Business · 2026-11-03 11:17:00 UTC · Summary only

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