Virgin Media O2 is drawing up plans to cut thousands of jobs in a sweeping restructuring, according to reports published on Saturday. Sky News, citing people close to the company, reported that as many as 4,000 of the telecoms firm's roughly 16,000 employees could be affected, although the precise number has not yet been finalised.

The company, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Spain's Telefónica, is understood to be preparing the shake-up ahead of its third-quarter results on Tuesday, when a cost-reduction target is expected to be confirmed in financial rather than headcount terms. Virgin Media O2 did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and a company spokesman declined to comment on the reported redundancy plans.

Back-office roles expected to bear the brunt

Most of the job losses are expected to fall on non-customer-facing roles, with a number of senior leadership changes already under way. Trade union officials at the CWU and Prospect are understood to have been briefed on some of the impending changes, and a review of spending on contractors and suppliers is also said to be part of the plan.

The restructuring comes against a backdrop of investor concern about the company's debt, which stands at around £22 billion. The Financial Times reported in July that the owners were weighing options to reduce that debt pile, and in September reported that shareholders were seeking cost savings of about £600 million.

What happens next

Any final numbers are expected to become clearer when the company reports its quarterly results next week. For now, the reported figures remain unconfirmed by the company itself, and staff face an uncertain wait to learn which roles will be affected and over what timescale the cuts would be made.