SCOTTISH Openreach workers were left “angry and stunned” after being told of major redundancies during a video call meeting.
On February 27, staff working on the flagship fibreoptic broadband rollout project were told that 1100 staff across the UK would lose their jobs, with around 100 of those in Scotland.
One employee affected by the cuts, who does not wish to be named, was present at the meeting where staff were called to the Glasgow head office to take part in a video call with other departments, known as "hubs", across the UK.
Openreach insists it has been “very honest” about upcoming redundancies, following reports in 2023 that BT would axe up to 55,000 jobs by 2030. The firm said the redundancies to the fibreoptic broadband programme were included in this number.
It is understood the redundancies will take effect in March and September 2026, and will affect both engineering and administrative roles.
The employee told The National: “There was a lot of anger, some people were a bit stunned, but people were definitely making their anger vocal.
“I was only in the room with those in Glasgow, so I’m not sure about the reaction in the rest of the UK.”
The staff member claimed that employees on the project team are being “incentivised” to sign up for redundancies, where they are given a guaranteed leave date next year, and one month's pay for each year of service, capped at 12 years.
“I’m concerned that the fibreoptic projects, which aren’t finished, will be completed by the company employing contractors.
“It seems as if this is about making sure the shareholders and investors make a profit, and they are cutting the wage bill to do it.”
Openreach set targets to roll out fibreoptic to 25 million premises by 2026, growing to 30m by 2030.
“A lot of the remaining places in Scotland that need fibreoptic are rural areas, and I don’t see how they can meet those targets by sacking qualified, experienced staff,” the employee explained.
The £15bn full-fibre project to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure announced in May 2024 that 28 areas in Scotland would be included in its next phase of rollout.
Previously, in May 2023, BT said it would become a “leaner business” as it announced plans to reduce the workforce by more than 40%, around 55,000 staff, by 2030. Around 10,000 of those jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence.
The firm has around 130,000 staff globally, 80,000 of those in the UK, and around 30,000 of those contractors through third parties.
Asked about the redundancies by The National, an Openreach spokesperson said: “With the transition to Full Fibre, we’ve been very honest about the fact we’ll need fewer people in the future to deliver a higher quality of service.
“The majority of this change is being managed through ‘natural attrition’ – where people who leave or retire are not automatically replaced – and this will happen gradually over time.
The spokesperson said that this includes access to a £3000 training grant, adding: “Openreach has also established connections with external companies looking for key infrastructure skills and assistance in identifying future job opportunities.
"We are confident that the voluntary and supportive approach will be an effective way of moving to a smaller workforce whilst giving individuals the best opportunity to secure long term future roles.”
Openreach said it was also “confident” of reaching its 2026 and 2030 targets.
