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BT to shed 13,000 jobs
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December 4, 2001: 7:54 a.m. ET
Britain's second-largest phone company hopes to save $1.2 billion over 3 years
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LONDON (CNN) - BT Group, Britain's second-largest phone company, said on Tuesday it plans to shed 13,000 jobs at its retail division.
The jobs are to be cut over a three year period and is expected to save the company about £850 million ($1.2 billion), a company spokesman told CNN. The company currently employs 115,000 people.
BT said there was "no compulsory" job losses but the company would not replace anyone retiring or those leaving for employment elsewhere. The company also told CNN that BT started cutting the posts at the beginning of January 2000.
About 75 percent of the jobs have already been cut. Most of them came from agencies working with BT rather than from BT staff, the company said All the remaining cuts were included in the 5,000 lay-offs announced in May.
BT's stock was down 2.6 percent at 268.5 pence in midday London trading on Monday. Its stock has fallen more than 40 percent over the year as it began to reduce crippling debts that stood at about £30 billion.
Its debt has lead to the departure of two executives and the demerger of mm02.
BT (BT-A), fresh from its split with mobile arm mmO2, earlier outlined plans to boost revenue in the stagnant fixed-line voice call market, which accounts for around a quarter of its revenue.
Its BT Retail division mostly supplies fixed-line call services to residential and business customers. BT said it was aiming for 3 percent compound annual growth in revenue for the four years to 2004/05 for BT Retail.
BT has more than 70 percent of the residential fixed-line voice call market in Britain. 
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