BT axing 4,000 jobs as boss loses bonus

The telecoms giant, which employs hundreds of people in Shropshire, said the jobs would go as part of restructuring it Global Services, Group Functions and Technology, Services & Operations (TSO), saving around £300m over two years.

BT employs 440 people at its Worldwide Network Management Centre in Oswestry, which includes part of the TSO division, and it has 380 across two sites in Shrewsbury, which includes a Global Services division.

Boss Gavin Patterson will see his total pay packet fall from £5.3 million to £1.3 million after losing his bonus.

BT's share price and profits have been dented as a result of the scandal, first revealed in January, which also saw BT's European head Corrado Sciolla leave the group.

The company's remuneration committee has also decided outgoing finance chief Tony Chanmugam will not receive a bonus, with his total pay dropping to £258,000 from £2.8 million.

Remuneration committee chairman Tony Ball said: "Our performance has been significantly affected by the accounting irregularities in our Italian business, the issues that arose in Openreach around deemed consent and the significant challenges we faced in the UK public sector and international corporate markets.

"The committee has made a number of difficult decisions this year in light of these circumstances and exercised its discretion accordingly."

The global services division operates in 180 countries, but BT did not say where the job cuts will fall.

The cuts will be to "back office and managerial roles" and will save BT £300 million over two years.

The restructuring is aimed at "developing a more digital business, prioritising innovation on the cloud-based platforms delivering its products and services, and less dependent on owning local network".

The company made the announcements alongside fourth quarter results, which saw pre-tax profit fall 48 per cent to £440 million.

Revenue came in at £6.1 billion versus £5.5 billion in the same period last year.

For the year to March 31, revenue was up 27 per cent to £24 billion while pre-tax profit fell 19 per cent to £2.3 billion.

The group's figures were hit by a £342 million Ofcom fine and related compensation payments.

A £15 million charge linked to the costs of investigating the Italian accounting irregularities was also reflected in the results.

Mr Patterson said: "This has been a challenging year for BT.

"We've faced headwinds in the UK public sector and international corporate markets and must learn from what we found in our Italian business.

"Openreach also received a fine from Ofcom after an investigation into historical Deemed Consent practices revealed it fell short of the high standards we expect."