BT has cut its workforce by 11 per cent over the past year as chief executive Allison Kirkby pushes through a sweeping overhaul of the telecoms group, while pre-tax profits rose 12 per cent to £1.1 billion in the six months to the end of September.

The group said its total workforce, excluding the international business, fell by 7,731 in the half-year to 90,000. Year on year, the workforce is 11,712 lower, a fall of 11 per cent. Most of the reduction came in Openreach, as the division needs fewer people now that the peak of its fibre network build has passed, and as part of a drive to cut billions of pounds in costs by 2030.

Profits up, but cash flow falls sharply

Cost cutting delivered £312 million of annualised savings in the half-year, and revenue edged up 1 per cent to £8.8 billion. BT still plans to reduce its UK workforce to between 65,000 and 70,000 by 2030. But normalised free cash flow fell 59 per cent to £236 million, and net debt rose by £1 billion to £21 billion. The interim dividend rises 2 per cent to 2.5p a share.

BT last month rescued TalkTalk from administration for about £400 million, taking responsibility for services used by about 2.5 million customers. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has intervened with a Public Interest Intervention Notice, asking the Competition and Markets Authority to report on the deal.

Sources: PA wire via Glasgow Times, BT sheds nearly another 8,000 jobs as cost-cutting helps boost earnings, 5 November 2026; Business Live, BT cuts 11% of workforce as TalkTalk acquisition adds to turnaround challenge, 5 November 2026.