BT is set to slash 13,000 jobs over the next three years, as part of a restructuring plan to invest in ultrafast broadband and the next generation of mobile networks.

The company, which has a regional headquarters in Gloucester, said middle managers and back office roles would be hardest hit, as reported by Sky. It is just a year since BT announced 4,000 job cuts.

The job cuts will enable BT to cut costs by £1.5bn, with the restructuring expected to cost £800m. A third of the job losses will take place overseas.

On the flip side, Britain's biggest telecoms operator said it would hire about 6,000 front line engineers, customer service and cybersecurity experts.

BT was hit hard by an accounting scandal in Italy last year and has spent billions on buying football rights to attract customers to its pay-TV channels. It also spent £12.5bn to buy mobile phone operator EE in 2016.

It also plans to increase investment to about £3.7bn annually to focus on ultrafast broadband and working towards 5G.

BT's headquarters near the London Stock Exchange will be closed, although it will still maintain a smaller presence in London at a location yet to be decided.

The latest round of job cuts and restructuring was announced as BT delivered a three per cent drop in fourth-quarter revenue to £5.96bn.