Virgin Media O2 to axe thousands of jobs
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Tuesday 03 Nov 2026
(Sharecast News) - Telecoms operator Virgin Media O2 is to cut thousands of jobs, it was confirmed on Tuesday, as it looks to slash its £22bn debt mountain and reduce costs.
Publishing third-quarter numbers, the broadband and mobile phone provider - which is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefonica - said it was "taking action to a create a simpler company", including reducing costs and prioritising investment to improve both customer experience and commercial performance. Annualised run-rate cost savings of around £800m are being targeted by 2029, including £300m next year.
The company - which employs around 16,000 people - added that an "organisational redesign" was expected to save around £300m of the total savings, with restructuring costs of around £250m.
It did not state how many jobs would be cut. However, the announcement confirmed multiple reports over the weekend, initially from Sky News, that thousands of positions would likely be affected. Citing an unnamed insider, Sky News said as many as 4,000 roles were facing the axe.
The company confirmed it would also halt its fibre upgrade programme as part of the overhaul.
As well as mounting debts, Virgin Media has been rocked by the rollout of rival BT's national fibre network and the rise of so-called alt-nets, which are smaller companies that offer cheap, fast connections.
Chief executive Lutz Schuler acknowledged the changes were "tough" but insisted they were necessary. He continued: "Given the market conditions we face, the regulatory backdrop in fibre and the technological changes sweeping across all areas of the economy, standing still and doing what we've always done is not an option."
Total revenues in the three months to September end fell 5.7% to £2.4bn, while adjusted core earnings were 2.6% weaker at £995.2m. It shed 23,300 consumer fixed-line customers during the period, and 49,800 mobile connections.
Looking to the full year, and Virgin Media O2 expects total service revenue to decline by between 3% and 5%, and for adjusted EBITDA to come in 3% to 5% lower.
Schuler said: "We remain on track to meet our full-year financial performance guidance. Despite a highly competitive market, our third quarter results show an increase in consumer mobile APRU, wholesale growth and an expansion in our adjusted EBITDA margin year-over-year."
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