Virgin Media O2 is drawing up plans to cut as many as 4,000 jobs, around 25% of its 16,000-strong workforce, as the telecoms company looks to lower its cost base against a £22bn debt pile. Most of the roles at risk are said to be in non customer-facing parts of the business, with changes to several senior leadership positions already under way.

The company is also reviewing its contractors and suppliers for further savings. The redundancies are expected over the coming months as management, drawn from the two owners, finalises the plans.

Virgin Media O2 is due to report third-quarter results next Tuesday and those figures are expected to confirm a cost-reduction target built around a financial goal rather than a fixed headcount. “The final numbers on cost reduction are still moving around,” a source said. Trade union officials at the CWU and Prospect have already been briefed.

The business is a 50/50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefonica, created in 2021 through the merger of Virgin Media and O2 in the UK. That deal brought broadband, television and mobile operations under a single owner. It files as Vmed O2 UK Limited, based in Reading, Berkshire and reported turnover of £10,113m in its latest filed year. Its person with significant control is Liberty Global Europe 2 Limited.

Liberty Global, one of the two parents, runs converged video, broadband and communications operations across four European countries.

The debt load has drawn investor attention to the company’s ability to keep servicing what it owes and the cuts form part of the response. Tuesday’s results are set to put a figure on how far the cost reductions will reach.