Network provider Virgin Media O2 is set to axe thousands of jobs by the end of the year, leaving up to 2,000 people unemployed.

It is understood that some of the impacted employees have already left the business, some are in consultation and others are due to be informed.

This means the significant job cuts will work out at more than a tenth of the operator's workforce, reports The Telegraph.

Virgin Media O2 was formed in June 2021 as a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica, merging Virgin Media and O2 UK businesses.

In the same year, it was one of the largest entertainment and telecommunications operators in Britain, with around 47 million customers.

A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “As we continue to integrate and transform as a company, we are currently consulting on proposals to simplify our operating model to better deliver for customers, which will see a reduction in some roles this year.

“While we know any period of change can be difficult, we are committed to supporting all of our people and are working closely with the CWU and Prospect along with our internal employee representatives as we have open and honest conversations on the future direction of our business.”

Virgin Money to close almost a third of its branches

It was recently announced that Virgin Money will close 39 branches across the UK, leaving 255 workers expected to face redundancy.

The business said it would be shutting down its banks due to changing customer demand, which has seen fewer people go into banks in favour of online services.

Virgin Money added that it has decided to close these stores based on factors including footfall, transaction volumes and the number of potentially vulnerable customers in the local area.

This will leave 91 branches still open but you can see the full list of closures here.

Sarah Wilkinson, chief operating officer at Virgin Money, said: “The decision to close a store is never taken lightly.

“But as our customers continue to change the way they want to bank with us, by conducting fewer transactions in-store and adopting the convenience of digital banking, we must respond to that evolving demand.

“For our colleagues, we will pursue all options to retain as many as possible within alternative roles, and have had great success previously with store colleagues moving to other customer operations roles, as their skills are highly transferable.”