Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs, Sky News reports (updated)

Telefonica SA

31/10/2026 11:07

Updates to include company response in bullet 3
Oct 31 (Reuters) - British telecoms operator Virgin Media O2, which is jointly owned by Liberty Global LBTYA.O and Spain's Telefonica TEF.MC, will cut thousands of jobs in a sweeping shakeup, Sky News reported on Saturday, citing people close to the company.
Up to 4,000 of Virgin Media O2's 16,000 employees could be affected, although the precise number of job cuts has yet to be finalised, the report said
Most of the job cuts are expected to affect non-customer-facing roles, while a number of senior leadership changes are already under way, the report said
Virgin Media O2 declined to comment on the report
The company is also expected to review usage of contractors and suppliers in an effort to reduce costs, the report said
The Financial Times reported in July that VMO2's owners were weighing options to reduce the company's £22 billion ($29.46 billion) debt pile
In September, the Financial Times reported Virgin Media O2’s shareholders were seeking to reduce costs by about £600 million 
($1 = 0.7468 pounds)

 (Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier)
 ((AngelaChristy.M@thomsonreuters.com))