British telecoms operator BT Group said today that 5,000 jobs would be lost this year, as it announced that net profit slid by nearly a third during its second quarter.
BT Group CEO Ben Verwaayen confirmed the number of jobs to go under a previously announced restructuring programme that is aimed at helping the company become more efficient.
'Every single year we have lost about 5,000 people but we are now talking about management,' Verwaayen said. 'We are going to streamline the internal organisation, de-layer the management layers and refocus people into frontline and revenue generating IT professionals,' he added.
BT Group said that its net profit slid by 28.6% to £339m in the three months to September 30, compared with the same quarter in 2006. Group revenue climbed 3.1% to £5.095 billion.
BT's second-quarter results included a £167m charge owing to its restructuring programme, which was set to cost a total £450m. BT employs about 107,000 staff worldwide.
BT Ireland said its revenues in the period were €549m, up 6% on a year earlier. What the company calls 'new wave revenue' - including broadband and networked IT services - grew by 22%.
Broadband connections in the Republic rose by 60% to almost 74,000. while the increase in Northern Ireland was 41% to 139,000.
