Merged mobile phone giant plans to axe 1,200 staff

Everything Everywhere said it was cutting 7.5 per cent of its 16,000 strong workforce to end duplicated roles following the tie-up between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK earlier this year.

The group said no cuts would be made among frontline or retail store staff. Its main offices are in London, Bristol and Hatfield, Herts.

The firm has launched a 90-day consultation with staff and said the jobs were likely to go by the end of the year.

The jobs blow comes after a three-month review of the business to identify areas where there is overlap under plans to save at least 3.5 billion. The firm has already cut about 30 senior management roles.

Tom Alexander, chief executive of Everything Everywhere, said: “We need to ensure that we are operating with maximum efficiency... and, above all, making sure that we are set up to deliver for the future.

“It is therefore regrettable that some roles will need to be removed from our combined business. We will, of course, be doing everything we possibly can to mitigate the personal impact on our people and support them through this process.”

The firm, owned jointly by Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, announced an 18.5 per cent plunge in adjusted second-quarter operating profits.