BT boss Kirkby hopes AI will deepen job openings, FT report

(Fixed typos in headings)

(Reuters) – BT Group CEO Alison Kirkby said advances in artificial intelligence could deepen significant job cuts for UK telecom companies, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Kirkby told the newspaper that the plan to cull more than 40,000 jobs and strip £3 billion ($4 billion) of expenses by the end of the decade “doesn’t fully reflect the possibilities of AI.”

“It depends on what we’ve learned from AI… There may be an opportunity for BT to get even smaller by the end of the decade,” FT quoted her as saying.

The UK’s largest broadband and mobile provider said in 2023 that it would cut jobs by 2030, including contractors. Then CEO Philip Jansen said the company would rely on a much smaller workforce by the end of the 2020s and would significantly reduce its cost base.

Kirkby, which took over from Janssen a year ago, opened the door to the potential for a future spinoff of its network infrastructure business, OpenReach, the FT said.

She said she doesn’t feel that OpenReach’s value is reflected in the company’s stock price. If that lasted, BT said, “You definitely need to consider the options.”

In an emailed response to Reuters, BT said OpenReach is not something the company is actively looking at right now. They did not provide further comment on Kirkby’s FT interview.

Last month, BT said strong demand for textile broadband and cost savings of over £900 million have helped to strengthen full-year revenues and drive cash flow.

Resilience at OpenReach Offset reduced revenue and profit declines in business and consumer units, where legacy voice services continue to decline and mobile phone sales decline.

($1 = 0.7372 pounds)

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal by Raju Gopalakrishnan, William Mallard and David Goodman)