£134m BT loss to herald 15,000 jobs cut
Depressing news from telecoms giant
BT has admitted it will shed a further of 15,000 jobs in the next year, after declaring a full-year loss of £134 million.
Problems with the company's Global Services arm has been blamed for the problems, with the company taking charges of some £1.3 billion due to the performance of the once-flourishing section.
The company has already shed 15,000 jobs in the past year and confirmed: "We expect further reductions of a similar level next year".
£2bn up to £134m down
The full-year figures show that the BT group reported a pre-tax loss of £134 million – an enormous contract to the £2 billion profit declared last year.
This loss was largely down to a £1.3 billion loss in the fourth quarter, although revenue for the period rose three per cent to £21.4 billion.
"Three out of four of BT's lines of business have performed well in spite of fierce competition and the global economic downturn," said CEO Ian Livingston.
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"However this achievement has been overshadowed by the unacceptable performance of BT Global Services and the resulting charges we have taken. During the year we have changed the leadership of BT Global Services and started to turn the division around.
"With a recovery programme for BT Global Services in place and our heightened focus on costs and customer service, we now want to accelerate our plans for our future networks.
"We will examine doubling the pace of the roll out of super fast broadband next year within existing capital expenditure plans, bringing fibre based services within the reach of more than a million homes and businesses and securing the jobs of a thousand BT people.
"In the coming year we will extend the record of operational delivery already demonstrated in three out of our four divisions right across the group. We expect to deliver a net reduction in operating costs and capital expenditure of well over £1 billion in 2009/10.
"This will enable us to generate free cash flow, before any pension deficit payments, in excess of £1 billion in 2009/10 and beyond.
"I believe BT will emerge from the recession a stronger company to the benefit of our customers and shareholders."
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