BT Openreach rival Hyperoptic is the latest altnet broadband provider to announce layoffs, with over 100 engineers expected to lose their jobs according to today’s announcement.
Hyperoptic, which is backed by private equity firm KKR, said the redundancies come as the group shifts from network rollout to the customer connection phase.
ISPreview reported that teams in Scotland and Northwest England will bear the brunt of job losses, though up to 40 engineers will be deployed into customer build and connection teams.
“Where necessary for the customer-centric roles, we will provide support and training to help keep our people in Hyperoptic – building on their skills, experience and expertise,” said Hyperoptic founder and chief executive Dana Tobak.
“For those employees that do move on from Hyperoptic, we will ensure the support they receive reflects the great work they have delivered for this company,” Tobak added.
CityFibre, Zzoomm and other major altnet providers have also announced three-figure job cuts this year.
Incumbent network leader BT Openreach intends to reduce its workforce by over 40% by the end of 2030, resulting in around 55,000 job losses across its entire telecoms business.
Though Hyperoptic’s target of a two million home footprint has been pushed back numerous times (first in 2021 and again this year), the group said these redundancies were unrelated.
Hyperoptic is known for its campaign against mid-contract price hikes in the broadband sector.
In November 2022, Tobak published open letters to Ofcom and the Committee of Advertising Practice calling for a review of the practice, as well as launching an advertising campaign to bring awareness to the issue.