Bad news for this telecom company, to layoff 55000 employees by…, not Ratan Tata's TCS or Narayana Murthy's Infosys, it is…
CEO of the British telecommunications company BT, Allison Kirkby revealed this in a Sunday interview with the Financial Times. He said that progress in AI technology might result in additional reductions at the company.
BT in 2023 had planned to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030, to reduce its cost base by the end of this decade. However, he also informed the FT that this strategy 'did not reflect' the 'full potential' of artificial intelligence.
As now BT has increasingly used AI to change operations in areas like customer service. 'Depending on what we learn from AI … there may be an opportunity for BT to be even smaller by the end of the decade,' Kirkby said.
The company is planning to use generative AI to assist with sales and support operations in BT and its mobile network division, EE. By December, the firm reported that EE's virtual assistant, Aimee, was able to manage up to 60,000 customer conversations weekly.
BT is not only one company which is planning automation in full swing. The Swedish payments firm Klarna is also taking initiatives to use AI in customer service operations. In 2024, Klarna had revealed that its OpenAI-powered AI assistant was performing the work of 700 full-time customer service agents.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Microsoft employee protests lead to arrests as company reviews its work with Israels military
REDMOND, Wash. — Worker-led protests erupted at Microsoft headquarters this week as the tech company promises an 'urgent' review of the Israeli military's use of its technology during the ongoing war in Gaza. A second day of protests at the Microsoft campus on Wednesday called for the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel. The police department began making arrests after Microsoft said the protesters were trespassing. 'We said, 'Please leave or you will be arrested,' and they chose not to leave so they were detained,' said police spokesperson Jill Green. Microsoft late last week said it was tapping a law firm to investigate allegations reported by British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 'Microsoft's standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage," the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding that the report raises 'precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.' The company said it will share the findings after law firm Covington & Burling completes its review. The promised review was insufficient for the employee-led No Azure for Apartheid group, which for months has protested Microsoft's supplying the Israeli military with technology used for its war against Hamas in Gaza. In February, The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giant's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel's in-house AI-enabled targeting systems. Following The 's report, Microsoft acknowledged the military applications but said a review it commissioned found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not share a copy of that review or say who conducted it. Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the contracts, and in April, fired two others who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Microsoft reviewing Israeli army's use of its tech amid worker protests
Worker-led protests erupted at Microsoft headquarters this week as the tech company promises an 'urgent' review of the Israeli military's use of its technology during the ongoing war in Gaza. A "Stop Starving Gaza" sign during a protest at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, Washington as employees rallied at the company to increase pressure on the software maker to stop doing business with Israel.(Bloomberg) A second day of protests at the Microsoft campus on Wednesday called for the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel. A spokesperson for the Redmond Police Department confirmed that several protesters have been arrested. Microsoft late last week said it was tapping a law firm to investigate allegations reported by British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 'Microsoft's standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage," the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding that the report raises 'precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.' The company said it will share the findings after law firm Covington & Burling completes its review. The promised review was insufficient for the employee-led No Azure for Apartheid group, which for months has protested Microsoft's supplying the Israeli military with technology used for its war against Hamas in Gaza. In February, The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giant's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel's in-house AI-enabled targeting systems. Following The AP's report, Microsoft acknowledged the military applications but said a review it commissioned found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not share a copy of that review or say who conducted it. Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the contracts, and in April, fired two others who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
UK businessman Sukhpal Ahluwalia buys Rs 100 cr flat in DLF Camellias
British businessman Sukhpal Ahluwalia has purchased an 11,416 sq ft apartment at DLF's luxury project The Camellias in Gurugram for Rs 100 crore, underscoring demand for high-end homes Sanket Koul New Delhi British businessman Sukhpal Ahluwalia has bought an 11,416 sq ft apartment at DLF's ultra-luxury project, The Camellias, in Gurugram for Rs 100 crore, people aware of the matter said. Ahluwalia, who sold his company Euro Car Parts, currently runs London-based real estate, hospitality and asset management company Dominvs Group. 'I was initially thinking of buying a farmhouse but later decided to buy in a gated condominium as we often come to India. We have a house in Kautilya Marg also but will prefer to stay in Gurugram,' Ahluwalia said, confirming the transaction. This transaction marks the third Rs 100-crore deal at the residential complex, which is home to several wealthy individuals. It also highlights sustained post-pandemic demand for luxury homes in India. Earlier, Info-X Software Technology's director Rishi Parti bought a 16,000 sq ft penthouse at The Camellias for Rs 190 crore in one of the country's costliest apartment transactions. Similarly, in October 2023, Smiti Agarwal, a director at Wesbok Lifestyle, purchased an apartment in the project in another Rs 100-crore deal. The deal comes at a time when DLF has been witnessing strong traction among non-resident Indians (NRIs) and high net-worth individuals (HNIs) for its luxury housing projects. Recently, the NCR-based realty major announced securing sales worth Rs 11,000 crore in its Privana North luxury project in Gurugram. 'About 25 per cent of the purchases have come from NRIs and overseas buyers from Canada, Australia and Jakarta,' Aaksh Ohri, joint managing director and chief business officer, DLF Homes, told Business Standard in June this year. Real estate experts say that post-Covid, ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) increasingly prefer gated condominiums over standalone bungalows, as these provide access to a wide range of facilities within the premises. A recent report by CBRE and Assocham noted that sales of luxury houses priced at Rs 4 crore and above rose 85 per cent year-on-year to over 7,000 units in the top seven cities during the first half of 2025 (H1 2025). Of this, Delhi NCR accounted for around 57 per cent of total sales. 'This rise was fuelled by demand from HNIs and NRIs seeking asset stability in times of global uncertainty,' the report stated. People familiar with the matter added that The Camellias, located on Gurugram's Golf Course Road, is currently trading at Rs 87,800 per sq ft and leasing at Rs 12 lakh to Rs 16 lakh per month, as of April 2025. Most buyers at The Camellias are from Delhi NCR, with prominent homeowners including BoAt founder Aman Gupta, Aakash Educational Services founder JC Chaudhry and real estate firm Elan Group. Several startup founders have also reportedly purchased apartments in the same complex.
