LONDON – Openreach, a division of British telecoms giant BT, announced plans today for 2,500 new engineering jobs across the UK next year as it upgrades broadband services.
Work on connecting households and offices to faster and more reliable broadband will see supply chains create a further 2,800 jobs, it added.
"Openreach today bucked the prevailing economic trend by creating 5,300 new UK-based engineering jobs... during 2021," a statement said.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak hailed the announcement, coming one day after he again extended the government's furlough scheme, paying the bulk of wages for millions of private-sector workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Throughout this crisis, I've been clear that our No. 1 economic priority is to protect jobs, so I'm delighted to welcome this announcement," Sunak said in the joint statement.
Openreach also announced a commitment to upgrade its 27,000 vehicles to electric by 2030. – AFP, December 18, 2020
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