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Sky will cut about 2,000 jobs — equivalent to 7 per cent of its workforce — as the broadcaster replaces more of its traditional call centre roles with online and AI-guided services.
UK-based Sky will close three of its 10 customer service sites — in Stockport, Sheffield and Leeds — and scale back two others in a move that will cut costs in a labour-intensive division for the group.
The plans, which staff were informed of on Thursday morning, will spark further fears about how digital and AI-driven services will increasingly replace jobs traditionally carried out by humans.
Sky, which was acquired in 2018 by US media conglomerate Comcast, said that the new strategy was a response to customer demand, with greater numbers wanting round the clock services and rapid answers to basic questions online.
Customers will still be able to speak to an adviser on the phone if they have a technical issue, the company said, but added that the majority of people wanted to do day-to-day tasks, such as paying a bill or managing contracts, using digital tools.
The company expects the number of calls taken by its customer services centres to drop from 25mn a year now to about 17mn by 2029.
Sky will invest further in digital services that it says will “match and surpass phone support in ease and efficiency”, including in its Sky app, text-based chat and other online help.
It will also make a “multimillion pound” investment in a new “centre of excellence” for customer service in Scotland. Technology will aim to proactively diagnose, fix, and update customers on issues before they might occur.
Some of the roles will be shifted outside the UK to offer round the clock services in centres in different time zones.
Sky executives said that the move was not linked to the chancellor’s Spring Statement on Wednesday, or the impending increase in employers’ national insurance contributions next month, despite the extra costs the government’s Budget measures will involve for a business with about 26,000 employees.
The new cuts comes after the Financial Times revealed last year that Sky was planning to cut about 1,000 jobs across its business in the UK as more customers switched to digital-only services. Many of the jobs affected were also in more traditional roles, such as the engineers that install satellite dishes on homes.
Sky said it had canvassed about 10,000 customers about what they wanted from its customer services in future, with the majority wanting flexible contact options such as phone, email, live chat and apps.
Sky said: “We’re transforming our business to deliver quicker, simpler, and more digital customer service. Our customers increasingly want choice, to speak to us on the phone when they need us most and the ease of managing everyday tasks digitally.”
Sky has been the least complained-about telecoms provider in the UK for 13 consecutive years, according to regulator Ofcom.
