2,200 jobs to go at Virgin Media

Cable group Virgin Media said today that it was axing around 2,200 UK jobs by 2012 under a sweeping restructure.

The group said it would not start cutting jobs until the fourth quarter of next year, with the majority of the role reductions taking place before the end of 2010.

The job losses come as part of a group-wide overhaul following a review this year made in the wake of the firm's formation by the merger of Telewest and ntl in 2006.

Virgin Media has 76 offices across the UK, with major bases including sites in London, Edinburgh, Nottingham and Sheffield.

The job losses - around 15 per cent of Virgin Media's workforce - form part of annual cost savings of more than £120 million by 2012.

Virgin Media said it was unclear at this stage which locations or departments would be affected by the move.

Neil Berkett, chief executive of Virgin Media, said: "We recognise that this brings with it significant uncertainty for our people and the communities where they work. Throughout the process, we will be communicating as early and openly as we can."

The group added it would look to avoid redundancies and offer staff alternative roles where possible.

Virgin Media said it hoped the "critical" restructure would allow the group to compete effectively and deliver for changing customer needs.

The group already shed around 4,000 staff in a jobs cull after the ntl and Telewest deal, which was later followed by the acquisition of Virgin Mobile.

A spokesman said the company review was not just about cost cutting, but also better integrating the companies, for example combining around eight billing systems.