BT Group plans to cut its total workforce by 42 per cent by the end of the decade to cut costs. The job cuts at the UK’s biggest telco are mainly due to the early completion of construction work on the country’s fiber optic network.

BT presented its end-of-year figures saying the workforce would fall by between 75,000 and 90,000 by the end of the 2030 financial year. The company currently employs approximately 130,000 people, including employees hired through third parties.

CEO Philip Johnson has quietly cut workers in recent years to boost profit growth. It wants to save 3 billion pounds (around 3.5 billion euros) annually by the end of the 2025 financial year compared to 2020 spending levels.

BT is upgrading its national network to faster fiber connections and plans to make the modern infrastructure available to 25 million homes by the end of 2026. Once that is done, the company will need fewer engineers and technicians if the internal systems are improved.