BT cuts over 11,700 jobs in one year period with thousands more to come

BT cuts over 11,700 jobs in one year period with thousands more to come BT's current workforce is now at 90,000, but it won't be for long as Chief Executive Allison Kirkby plans to cut roles to between 65,000 and 70,000 by 2030. A UK broadband giant has cut more than 11,700 jobs over the past 12 months. Bosses have shared that more job cuts are on the horizon, despite buying out a competitor and taking on more customers. BT's retrenchments have been made as a means to cut cost, which has proven to be successful. The company's UK workforce, however, has shrunk drastically, dipping 11% over the past year. The current workforce now sits at 90,000, but it won't be this high for long as boss Allison Kirkby plans to cut roles to just 65,000 and 70,000 by 2030. Despite restructuring, BT recently rescued rival TalkTalk out of administration. The buyout is expected to cost BT around £400 million this financial year and means the firm is responsible for maintaining services for 2.5 million TalkTalk customers. The job cuts over the past year have helped pre-tax profits to rise 12% to £1.1 billion for the six months to September. Revenue, however, has only risen 1% to £8.8 billion. BT's restructuring programme has delivered £312 million in annual savings as the telco looks to simplify its business and slash operating costs, The Sun reports. While short-term profits have been helped by the role reductions, the telco's finances remain under pressure. Normalised free cash flow, the money remaining after running and investing in the business, plummeted 59% to £236 million. Debt has ballooned, rising by £1 billion to £21 billion. Ms Kirkby said the broadband company was making progress despite the challenging market. "Our UK-centric strategy and transformation is clearly delivering with £312 million of annualised savings achieved in the first half, as we continue to simplify and modernise," she said. BT maintained its full-year forecasts and hiked its interim dividend by two per cent to 2.5p per share. The continued restructuring is targeting £3.5 billion of gross annualised cost savings by the end of the decade.