BT faces threat of first national strike in 30 years

Chairman Jan du Plessis unexpectedly announced his resignation last week following failing to bridge the hole in between two camps within administration at odds about the rate of adjust essential at the company.

A single team of directors, together with Mr Jansen, wants BT to accelerate choices around its nationwide broadband network Openreach, as effectively as restructuring.

Nonetheless, other board associates want more certainty around exterior problems this sort of as regulation, according to insiders. 

Mr Jansen threatened to resign if the board did not obtain a chairman who would accelerate adjust, following clashing with Mr du Plessis about problems together with the opportunity market-off of Openreach, Sky Information first reported last week.

Mr du Plessis is recognized to have considered it was also early to convey in an exterior shareholder into the ownership structure of Openreach, BT’s most beneficial asset. But Mr Jansen considered undertaking so could improve BT’s share cost and assistance fund the countrywide broadband up grade.

BT did not deny Mr Jansen created this sort of a threat, but a spokesman explained: “There has been no misalignment in between the board and govt administration about the firm’s technique.”