Philip Jansen, the chief executive of BT, is to step down just months after saying the company would cut up to 55,000 jobs over the next decade.

BT said it has kicked off the search for his replacement with chairman Adam Crozier saying the board expects to be able to share an update over the summer.

Mr Jansen said he will step down at an “appropriate moment” over the next 12 months.

Mr Jansen, who took the job role in 2019, focused investment at the telecoms company on rolling out fibre-optic connections across the UK while streamlining the rest of the business, such as merging internal business-to-business units and putting sport broadcasting into a joint venture.

He recently announced the company would cut as many as 55,000 of its 135,000-strong headcount by the end of the decade.

Mr Jansen’s successor will have to grapple with a share price that has fallen by almost 50pc since he took over, as well as a UK ban on key Chinese supplier Huawei, higher energy prices and finding a way to recoup the investment needed for fibre and 5G. 

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