# Virgin Media O2 plans 25% job cuts in £800m savings drive

> The telecoms company will cut thousands of jobs and increase AI use to tackle its £22bn debt and save £800m annually by 2029.
- Title: Virgin Media O2 plans 25% job cuts in £800m savings drive
- Summary: The telecoms company will cut thousands of jobs and increase AI use to tackle its £22bn debt and save £800m annually by 2029. Virgin Media O2 is cutting up…
- Keywords: virgin media o2, job cuts, cost savings, telecommunications, debt reduction, artificial intelligence, news, world, Virgin, Media, plans, job
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/business/2026/nov/03/virgin-media-o2-cut-jobs-cost-savings-telecoms-ai
- Published: 2026-11-03T08:21:45+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: virgin media o2, job cuts, cost savings, telecommunications, debt reduction, artificial intelligence, news, world
## Virgin Media O2 targets £800m in savings
The telecommunications company, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, is cutting costs to tackle its £22bn debt pile. The savings plan will run over several years.
## Up to 25% of workforce could be cut
Virgin Media O2 will reduce its employee wage bill by 30% over the next two years. £300m of the £800m savings target will come from job cuts affecting up to 25% of its 16,000 workforce.
## AI expansion and contractor cuts planned
Most job losses will come from non-customer facing roles. The company intends to increase AI use in customer service, network planning and fault management, and will reduce contractor use and review suppliers.
## Fibre network upgrades halted
Virgin Media O2 is halting investment in upgrading its network to full fibre, which is 50% complete, beyond existing commitments.
## Key takeaway

Virgin Media O2 is cutting up to 25% of its 16,000 workforce and halting fibre network upgrades to save £800m annually by 2029 and reduce its £22bn debt.