Opinion | AI might slim BT's workforce, but at what cost to people and reputation?

By now, most business leaders understand that artificial intelligence is going to reshape the workplace. But as BT’s chief executive Allison Kirkby made clear in a recent Financial Times interview, some see that transformation as an opportunity not just to evolve jobs, but to eliminate them.

Kirkby suggested that the telecoms giant’s already significant plans to cut 40,000 to 55,000 jobs by 2030 might not go far enough, given AI’s growing capabilities. “Depending on what we learn from AI … there may be an opportunity for BT to be even smaller by the end of the decade,” she told the FT.

It’s a bold and unsettling vision, one that raises pressing questions not only for employees, but for HR professionals, policymakers, and corporate leaders themselves.

The case for

The logic behind AI-driven job cuts is easy to follow. Companies are under relentless pressure to cut costs and boost efficiency. BT is already targeting £3bn in savings, and if AI tools can streamline customer service, automate admin, or optimise engineering workflows, it stands to reason that fewer human workers would be needed to maintain the same level of service.