The UK’s largest telecommunications provide, British Telecom (BT) has decided to axe 270 of its office locations in the UK, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
With 300 locations originally, BT will now be succumbed to just 30 offices, highlighting the following areas as being key including Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Ipswich (Adastral Park), London and Manchester.
BT will is also leaving its famous St Paul’s headquarters in central London, where they have been since 1874 and are now looking for a new office in London.
Part of a Three-to-Five Year Programme
BT announced this office decision as part of its three-to-five-year programme “to improve and consolidate its workplaces across the UK.”
BT said the reduction of more than 300 locations to just 30 will allow them to offer “modern, future-fit buildings, including corporate offices, contact centres and specialist sites.”
BT said it is still finalising its plans, but that some existing BT buildings will be refurbished while others will see BT move into new offices altogether.
The telecoms carrier said it is the largest programme of its type in the UK, and that BT’s telephone exchanges will be retained by the Group.
BT Group chief executive Philip Jansen said: “The Better Workplace Programme is about bringing our people together in brilliant spaces, and transforming the way we work.”
“Revealing these eight locations is just the first step; we have dedicated teams working on identifying the best buildings to move into and which ones to redesign for the future,” Jansen added. “As a result of this programme, BT people will be housed in inspiring offices that are better for our business and better for our customers.”
BT are the first of many UK based companies who are looking to restructure their offices following covid-19. With rise in remote working, some companies are opting for smaller offices to allow staff to work from home or in other locations – meanwhile some businesses are looking for larger offices to encourage social distancing.