Virgin Media: 900 employees face redundancy as telecoms firm 'reorganises'

Nine hundred Virgin Media employees in the UK could be facing redundancy as the company has announced restructuring plans that could see mass lay-offs over the next two years. The cable company announced the potential redundancies on 21 January, along with plans to recruit 1,000 apprentices for future projects.

The company claimed the reorganisation supported its growth plans, with new roles also being created by Virgin Media 'in areas driving its growth' alongside the redundancies being made.

Virgin Media CEO Tom Mockridge said: "Over the last three years Virgin Media has been transformed. We're expanding, investing and growing our business. The proposed reorganisation will give us an even sharper focus on the customer, network expansion and business growth."

The company, which is owned by US cable giant Liberty Global, offers broadband, phone and TV services, and employs 13,500 people directly, refused to say which areas are likely to be affected by the redundancies, however it confirmed it is currently consulting with employees who could be facing job losses.

However, despite the likelihood that almost 1,000 current employees will be made redundant, the company announced its intention to grow its staff by 2,000 in the UK and overseas by 2017, with further projects expected to create an additional 6,000 UK jobs.

A statement from Virgin Media said: "One important area of growth is Project Lightning, the five-year plan to invest £3bn extending the Virgin Media ultrafast network to reach 17 million homes and businesses. This is the UK's largest single investment in broadband infrastructure for more than a decade."