Job Cuts Set to Strike More of Virgin Media O2’s UK Staff UPDATE
Broadband ISP and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2), which is known to employ around 16,000 people across the United Kingdom, has confirmed to ISPreview UK that an unspecified number of their workers were notified this week that they were likely to be made redundant in the near future.
The event was noticed after staff that had been impacted by the decision began reporting it across social media, although VMO2 has declined to provide any solid numbers until the usual consultation period has completed. A spokesperson for VMO2 told ISPreview: “This is part of ongoing integration activity and we’re continuing to support all of our people through any change taking place.”
However, the move is not unexpected. The operator is known to have been trying to cut costs and are also hoping to benefit from the efficiencies that are likely to flow from their network upgrade projects (e.g. upgrading Hybrid Fibre Coax lines to XGS-PON based FTTP). The CWU union also warned in February (here) that some employees were potentially “at risk” of redundancy as a result of VMO2’s site rationalisation and restructuring exercise.
We don’t currently have a lot more detail to share, although quite a few of the latest redundancies appear to be coming from the South East and East Anglia areas. The issue also appears to be impacting some of those in their VMO2 Business division.
UPDATE 25th June 2023
The weekend saw a series of news reports that suggested anything from 800 to 2,000 people could lose their jobs as part of the redundancy process we uncovered last week.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
« BT Start Deploying UK Digital Voice Service Across East Midlands
Latest UK ISP News
- FTTP (5538)
- BT (3518)
- Politics (2542)
- Openreach (2300)
- Business (2267)
- Building Digital UK (2247)
- FTTC (2045)
- Mobile Broadband (1978)
- Statistics (1790)
- 4G (1669)
- Virgin Media (1625)
- Ofcom Regulation (1467)
- Fibre Optic (1396)
- Wireless Internet (1392)
- FTTH (1382)
Extremely sad news, but of course not unexpected.
Things aren’t getting easier.
I’m afraid they’ll be plenty more redundancies to come over the next 6 months in the Altnet world.
To classify Virgin Media O2 as an altnet is perhaps stretching the generally accepted view of altnets?
But this won’t be the last bloodletting at VMO2, as their merger agreement announced that they would find £350m of cost savings (plus further amounts of revenue and capex benefits). If you assume that 80% of the cost savings have to come from headcount, that’s around about 8-10,000 jobs at UK averaged costs.
VMO2 employees: If your name isn’t on the list, that just means it isn’t on the list yet. The prudent might want to start looking for different jobs now.
They also pushed back April’s pay increase to the 1st of August and now made sure redundancies finalise on the 31st July so nobody receives higher redundancy for what their wage should have been for the past 2 month and upcoming 2
Any source on that? Seems highly illegal.
@aqx not illegal, pay rises are not contractual. immoral…yes…illegal…no
Aren’t VM staff on minimum wage?
The ones doing the coal face work yes. The bosses that work out who to give the tin tac to earn mega bucks. Patting themselves on the back for “streamlining “ while making sure they still get awards the bonuses. When I was there the pay gap was massive.
I’ve heard the same. Weird that they gave a wage rise and then deliver on it months later. Same thing happened last year apparently as some got a wage rise but didn’t get it when it was announced and had to wait months or till next year for the new pay. I’m shocked this happens but apparently it does. Non of the guys I spoke with are prepared to put their name To this…what a carry on.
Just showed a vm tech your comment and he agrees with you 100%. He reckons you’re a brave tech for sticking this on here and much love and respect to you.
VMO2 are making huge cuts to NeEx build staff, obviously they wish to turn that area into turnkey solution giving contract partners almost complete control, however this makes the accountants very happy along with investors….
The company is going downhill at an alarming rate taking O2 down with it! VM faults seem to roll on for days not hours now.
If you mean Nexfibre (the company they hope to build a wholesale FTTP network) that’s legally and managerially separate from VMO2, and it’s VMO2 announcing these job cuts. The relationship between Nexfibre and VMO2 is that the owners of VMO2 have a half share in Nexfibre (alongside a private equity house owning the other half) and VMO2 are intended to sell their wares via Nexfibre’s network on a non-exclusive basis.
WHich means if Nexfibre are cutting jobs, that’s in addition to the cuts at VMO2.
No he means netex, which is a division of VM02s build staff.
Approx 2000 members of staff at risk. As mentioned above full turnkey solutions = less need for in house staff on build
And what is the source of the rumoured 2000 redundancies?
I’m in the industry and know a lot of people in it. That’s the rumours coming straight from the horses mouths.
Cityfibre wiil be next to announce more redundancies.
Things are getting tough. It’s a real shame but everyone knew it was coming.
They’re done until Christmas I believe.
Maybe all these redundancies both ends could be part of the suspected buy over.
Unfortunately things are getting worse not better.
With more interest rate rises on the way, even more pressure will be put on the Altnets who have huge debts and aren’t making a profit yet.
It’s all very well paying for Fibre Awards, putting on your best suits, quaffing fizzy wine, big grins for the cameras…
But it doesn’t change the reality that the Altnet market is simply saturated, there’s not enough customers to go around, it’s simply not sustainable, investors are starting to realise it’s not a viable business model.
Was all supportive of ALTNETS as BT needed some kicking over limited products even with FTTP (like poor upload speeds). However, given my local ALTNET wants to be super selective over doing roads, despite saying they would be coming, I’m beginning to see through their nonsense of coverage claims when they announce an area; its all highly selective and nowhere near the original claims. BTW, these are not challenging roads, it just means a little work of 1 or 2 poles or a few metres of trench in grass verge to put coverage into the next road, or in my case, simply following the BT poles along that are there anyway using PIA. If you are going to cover an area and because you say you are bringing ultrafast broadband then flaming just do it!
@anonymous
Yes, all the razzamatazz, awards ceremonies, advertising, tour bus, etc. doesn’t mean anything if it can’t be backed up with actually delivering a service with decent customer support.
It’s a real shame.
@anonymous – Not just me then. Trooli seem to have done that where I am. Covered every road in the large estate I’m in but two – and those are the furthest from the FTTC cabinet! Guess where I live… Giganet do seem to be doing a better job covering every street (even have a new manhole on the corner of the street) but they seem determined to bring the whole larger area online at once (another town and village) but that makes zero sense considering both town and village have BT/Openreach fiber (+Trooli in patches) so they’ll get limited take up there (but could have corned the market in the town where I live).
Plusnet (using Openreach network) have just announced price cuts for FTTP.
Greg Mesch isn’t going to be happy.
Such sad news, it seems as if big broadband with their massive profits, once they can make cut backs they will and use any excuse. I totally feel your pain as I’m in the same boat with another big provider.
Having been involved in the industry for a competitor, I know a few virgin engineers and network guys and they’re all concerned as their bonus and incentive schemes have been changed or are about to change ie have less money coming in from bonuses and harder each time to get a bonus. VM has no union recognition and has annoyed many staff at all levels in the field. Their own recent “democratic” polls suggest that staff are unhappy and concerned about a variety of issues. Speaking to a few lads I’ve discovered that many area and regional managers have been put on 30 day notices and are being invited to reapply for their roles, it is expected that job losses will happen because they need to reduce costs aka reduce numbers. Even on their own intranet chat people from various departments at risk are stating that no one from the at risk people have been consulted as the suggestions for job cuts are from some special project team that’s been setup. Many on the front line ie the techs who install and service the customer are seriously concerned about what’s coming their way as cuts at the top tend to follow with cuts to the average tech. Some of these techs are actively seeking union membership ( don’t really see what that will achieve as VM side of VM02 doesn’t recognise such unions…02 does have recognition). Some techs are actively searching employment with other fibre providers. Also I’ve been told that VM techs and networks people don’t get paid as much as people think they do and many have left to join the altnets despite the precarious situation certain altnets find themselves in. I say the above from hearing and speaking to Vm and some 02 staff that I meet with. Our union CWU has local reps who are also talking about the same things I’ve mentioned. If I was a tech at VM I’d be searching elsewhere before the accountants and cost cutters take a long look at them too. Hopefully the techs will be ok as most of the ones I know are really nice average Joes stuck between a rock and a hard place.
After working and then being made redundant after 11 years, this company is known to be a very unreliable employer.
Sadly the senior leadership team forget customers pay their wages and that the customer service team deal with whilst they sit there doing nothing and attending parties and take drugs (can prove if required)
The company was a great place to work for, went slightly downhill when liberty global took over then the merger with 02 finished it off.
Would never use vm services again and will never recommend or say anything positive about them, just like their staff they won’t care at all
Totally agree, liberty global was the coffin and o2 were the nails. Glad I left before all this happened.
Condolences to the good people having their jobs taken.
Not surprised the slightest. Went through a similar situation when they were based in Liverpool. Pay discussions with the union and VM suddenly changed the pay discussions to redundancy. Then in Swansea (where they moved their first and second line tech support to at that time) again redundancies, 7 years after the move. Not a company I would ever suggest to work for