BT to slash another 10,000 jobs
BT is preparing to axe another 10,000 jobs. The huge redundancy programme will be announced next month alongside a horrendous set of year-end figures that will include provisions of about £1.5 billion.
The results will mark one of the lowest points in BT’s history since it was privatised in 1984. The share price has crashed to 81p, valuing the telecoms company at £6.3 billion. It will also seriously damage the legacy of Ben Verwaayen, BT’s former chief executive, who left eight months ago and has since become chief executive at Alcatel-Lucent.
The dividend is likely to be cut by up to 60%, while profits will be further dented by a big contribution to address a pension deficit that will exceed £8 billion.
The redundancies, which result from an improvement in BT’s efficiency, are in addition to the 10,000 job cuts made last year and will be spread around BT’s 160,000 workforce.
There is no guarantee that this will mark the end of job losses. Some analysts believe next month’s figure could be higher than 12,000.
BT’s chairman Sir Mike Rake and his chief executive Ian Livingston know they have one chance to clear up the group’s balance sheet and have no intention of underestimating the scale of provisions required.
They intend to present a company that has a sustainable dividend policy, cash flow and profits that can be delivered at the same time as reducing a debt burden of £11 billion.
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