High confidence May 18, 2023

BT Group

−55,000 Up to 55,000 by 2030 (≈42% of workforce); ~10,000 attributed to AI/automation

Attribution · verbatim quote

“Generative AI is a massive change — it's a fundamental change. We absolutely need to be using AI to be more efficient.”

— Philip Jansen (ceo)

Summary

BT Group announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 as it completed its fibre rollout. BT and CEO Philip Jansen told media that around a fifth of the cuts — roughly 10,000 roles — would be attributable to AI and automation, including customer service handled by chatbots.

Evidence notes

· BBC: ~10,000 of the 55,000 cuts attributed to AI; remainder to fibre completion and contractor reductions.
· Forbes coverage explicitly cites 'AI replacing thousands of roles'.
· Verbatim Jansen quote sourced from FT/BBC coverage of the May 2023 results call.

Sources

BT to cut 55,000 jobs with up to a fifth replaced by AI

BBC · News · 2023-05-18 · bbc.com

BT to axe up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 as it pushes into AI

The Guardian · News · 2023-05-18 · theguardian.com

Telecom Giant BT Will Cut 55,000 Jobs By 2030—And Replace Thousands of Roles with AI

Forbes · News · 2023-05-18 · forbes.com