BT will rely by the end of the 2020s "on a much smaller workforce and significantly reduced costs," Chief Executive Philip Jansen said in a statement. 10,000 of the 55,000 jobs that would be cut would be related to artificial intelligence.
Digital bots will increasingly be used to manage calls, but also to help diagnose network problems. The company's unions say they are concerned, but not surprised. One of them hopes that job cuts will take place first with subcontractors or through voluntary departures.