On 18 May, the UK telecommunications giant said it intends to shed up to 55,000 jobs by 2030, with the bulk of the losses centred on its UK operations where its current headcount totals 80,000 (out of a grand total of 130,000). A special feature of this restructuring is that up to one fifth of these jobs, or more than 10,000, will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). The announcement has raised worry among the unions.
“We will be a beneficiary of AI unequivocally,” stated Philip Jansen, CEO of BT Group during the unveiling of his staff reduction plan on 18 May. The CEO said he did not hesitate for a moment to support the use of artificial intelligence. “For a company like BT, artificial intelligence represents a huge opportunity to be more efficient,” he said, while acknowledging however that it was necessary to be “careful”. In detail, the group has planned to shrink its workforce from 130,000 currently...
Do you have information to share with us?