BT cutting 10,000 jobs as downturn bites

The telecoms giant BT is cutting 10,000 jobs, it has announced, as slump in the British economy begins to bite.
By Jon Swaine 13 Nov 2008
In its half-year results, the company said that it has already cut 4,000 employees, while a further 6,000 will go between now and March.
Consultants, contractors and offshore staff among the company's total workforce of 160,000 are to be worst hit by the move, which is part of an ongoing efficiency programme, with direct staff numbers being reduced by four per cent in total.
The company's announcement came a day after national unemployment rose to 1.825 million - its highest level for 11 years. A further 140,000 people were out of work in the three months to September.
Economists have forecast that the total will pass 2 million in the new year and could exceed 3 million as the economic downturn continues to worsen.
On Tuesday a string of household names - including Virgin Media, Yell and GlaxoSmithKline - announced a round of job cuts totalling 5,000 workers.
Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, said on Wednesday that Britain has entered a recession that will be deeper than had previously been anticipated, with growth set to fall as far as -2 per cent.
BT also announced that its pre-tax profits in the second quarter fell by 11 per cent to £590 million.
Its report came soon after it warned that larger-than-anticipated costs in its Global Services arm would significantly reduce its profitability over the year.
Ian Livingston, the company's chief executive, said BT was "taking decisive action to put matters right".
"Three out of our four business units, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach are delivering on or ahead of target," Mr Livingston said.
"But profits in BT Global Services are simply not good enough."