BT has cut almost 8,000 jobs since the end of March as the telecoms group pushes ahead with a sweeping programme of cost cuts, its half-year results have revealed. The group said its workforce fell by 7,731 to 90,000 over the six months to the end of September, excluding staff in its international business, which is being spun out into a joint venture with the US telecoms company Verizon. Year on year, the workforce is 11,712 lower, a fall of 11 per cent.

Most of the reduction came at Openreach, the division that builds and runs BT's broadband network, as the pace of its fibre rollout slows. The cuts helped lift pre-tax profit by 12 per cent to £1.1 billion in the six months to 30 September, on revenue of £8.8 billion, up 1 per cent.

BT said its transformation programme remains on track to deliver £3.5 billion of gross annualised cost savings by the end of the 2030 financial year on a continuing operations basis, with £312 million achieved in the first half alone. The group now expects its total labour resource to fall to between 65,000 and 70,000 by March 2030, excluding the international arm.

Chief executive Allison Kirkby said the group's UK-focused strategy and transformation is "clearly delivering", pointing to the savings achieved in the first half as the group continues to simplify and modernise.

BT also confirmed it completed the acquisition of TalkTalk out of administration on 5 October, protecting services for 2.5 million customers. The group said it could not give details on plans for TalkTalk jobs while regulators review the deal, as the business must be run separately in the meantime.

[Source: newsroom.bt.com](https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-delivered-a-strong-first-half-with-further-strategic-momentum/) | [Source: theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/nov/05/bt-cuts-jobs-cost-saving-programme-profit-share-price)