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Global telecommunications operators have shed nearly 100,000 jobs in a year, even as labour costs per employee rose by 6.8 per cent.
This has raised questions about the effectiveness of workforce cuts as companies turn to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to improve efficiency.
The development could have implications for the country’s telecommunications industry, where operators are under pressure to expand network capacity, improve service quality and manage rising operating costs while investing in digital infrastructure.
A report by MTN Consulting, authored by its chief analyst, Matt Walker, found that employment across a panel of 145 telecommunications operators declined from approximately 4.38 million in the second quarter of 2025 to 4.29 million in the corresponding period of 2026.
Despite the reduction in headcount, average labour costs per employee increased from $58,500 to $62,500 annually, reflecting a 6.8 per cent rise.
The findings suggest that reducing staff numbers does not necessarily translate into lower overall labour expenditure or stronger profitability, particularly when compensation costs rise and operators continue to face significant infrastructure and operating expenses.
For Nigeria, where telecommunications companies are expanding networks to accommodate growing demand for data and digital services, the findings highlight the need to assess automation and workforce restructuring against measurable improvements in productivity and financial performance.
However, the global figures do not establish that Nigerian operators have cut jobs on a similar scale or that AI adoption has directly caused workforce reductions in the country.
The report found that employment in the broader Middle East and Africa telecommunications region declined by 2.8 per cent during the period. The regional figure, however, does not isolate Nigeria or identify the contribution of individual operators to the decline.
The country’s telecommunications industry continues to invest in network expansion despite mounting cost pressures.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in its report on the commission’s 109th board meeting in May 2026, said operators had committed to deploying more than 12,000 additional network sites to improve coverage, capacity and quality of experience, with more than 5,000 completed at the time.
The investment requirements place operators in a position where they must balance spending on infrastructure, energy, technology and personnel while maintaining service quality and profitability.
MTN Nigeria’s financial results for the first half of 2026 also illustrate the cost pressures confronting the sector.
The company reported a 38.7 per cent increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), with its EBITDA margin expanding by 5.3 percentage points to 55.9 per cent.
However, MTN Nigeria warned that increases in power costs reported across the Nigerian tower industry during the second quarter were expected to feed into site costs in the second half of the year.
The company also identified global device pricing, currency volatility and infrastructure-related expenses among the issues it was monitoring.
These pressures make operational efficiency important for Nigerian operators, although the global workforce report indicates that cutting employee numbers alone may not be sufficient to achieve sustainable cost savings.
MTN Consulting found no measurable relationship between changes in employee numbers and movements in operating profit margins among 72 major operators examined in its analysis.
Although companies that reduced their workforces were more likely to record improved margins, the outcome was not guaranteed. The report found that operators cutting staff outperformed those that did not in approximately 57 to 67 per cent of cases in historical event studies dating back to 2011.
The findings challenged the assumption that workforce reductions automatically translate into stronger financial performance.
They also raise questions about claims that AI adoption will necessarily lead to lower operating costs across the telecommunications industry.
While automation can help operators streamline customer service, monitor networks and improve operational processes, the financial benefits depend on how effectively the technology is deployed and whether the resulting efficiencies translate into measurable savings or additional revenue.
The report found that operators with higher AI-related publicity were not necessarily those making the largest workforce reductions. It also highlighted a gap between reported AI benefits and measurable industry-wide financial performance.
Data from Nvidia’s fourth annual State of AI in Telecommunications report indicated that approximately 65 per cent of respondents reported AI-driven revenue gains or annual cost reductions exceeding five per cent.
However, MTN Consulting’s analysis found that fewer than 20 per cent of global operators increased revenue by more than five per cent annually, while fewer than 20 per cent reduced operating expenses by more than five per cent.
The difference suggests that benefits reported from individual AI applications should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of improved performance across an operator’s entire business.
For Nigeria, the implications extend beyond staffing decisions. As operators deploy more advanced network technologies and digital services, they will need to demonstrate that investments in automation improve efficiency without undermining service delivery or their capacity to sustain network expansion.
The industry’s challenge will be to balance technology adoption, workforce productivity and rising infrastructure costs while ensuring that investments translate into better services and stronger financial results.
Ultimately, the global experience suggests that the success of AI in telecommunications will be measured not by the number of jobs eliminated or systems automated, but by whether operators can achieve sustainable productivity gains and improve performance.
