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市場調查報告書
商品編碼
1955539

電信業人才追蹤報告（2025年第三季）

Telco Talent Tracker, 3Q25 - Workforce Continues Falling at Roughly 2% Per Year, Now 4.34 million: Average Telco Salary Rises, Approaching US$60K Per Year, Most Profitable Telcos Invest in Upskilling, Layoffs Not Clearly Linked to Profits
出版日期: | 出版商: MTN Consulting, LLC | 英文 | 訂單完成後即時交付

價格

員工人數正以每年約2%的速度下降，目前為434萬人；電信業平均薪資正在上漲，接近每年6萬美元；獲利的電信公司正在加大對技能發展的投資；裁員與獲利能力之間沒有明顯的關聯性。

本報告分析了全球電信業者的人才趨勢，不僅提供了產業整體趨勢的概述，也提供了公司層面的詳細數據。對電信業者而言，對全球72家公司的勞動成本和生產力進行基準分析，有助於優化其勞動力轉型和人工智慧整合策略。對於供應商而言，本報告識別出了勞動力成本比率和勞動力營運費用比率較高、利潤率較低的電信營運商，並推薦了最佳解決方案部署方案，以提高營運效率並降低成本。對於投資者而言，本報告闡明了員工人數與獲利能力之間的關聯性（或缺乏關聯性）。

本報告監測了全球電信業者產業的就業趨勢。 MTN顧問公司對140家電信業者進行了調查，其中116家為活躍業者。本報告深入分析了72家領先營運商，這些營運商約佔全球市場佔有率的85%。數據涵蓋2011年第一季至2025年第三季。

引言：自動化的必要性

隨著全球電信業者收入成長放緩，業內最成功的公司正透過將重心從不切實際的成長預測轉向積極的成本管理而取得成功。這項策略的核心是採用自動化、自主網路以及最近興起的基於人工智慧的技術。 MTN顧問公司的電信人工智慧與自動化（TAIA）模組將深入探討這項轉型。

電信業正面臨人才流失的困境，而這種趨勢是結構性的。雖然自然減員、自願退休和人員流失等因素導致員工總數減少，但 "普通" 員工的組成也在改變。 目前，電信業者正優先招募在軟體編碼、雲端服務、人工智慧和量子運算領域擁有專業知識的人才。人工智慧尤其受到電信高階主管的關注。儘管電信營運商長期以來一直致力於自動化外圍流程，但許多營運商現在的目標是圍繞人工智慧建立其業務基礎。 Verizon 的新任執行長正在積極裁員，該公司在 2025 年第四季度財報電話會議上表示，其目標是成為業內“最高效的電信運營商”，為了實現這一目標，“我們將成為一家人工智能優先的公司，並堅定地推進人工智能的大規模應用。” 雖然其他電信高層也使用了類似的措辭，但現實情況是，充分利用現有員工才是成功的關鍵。培訓和技能提升是必不可少的策略。 Swisscom 的執行長在最近一次第四季財報電話會議上表示： "隨著數位化和人工智慧轉型推動未來諸多變革，我們面臨著非常嚴峻的商業環境。我們正在不斷提升員工技能，以持續提高整體績效。" 如今的成功取決於在現有員工技能提升和策略性招募新員工以滿足數位化優先需求之間取得微妙的平衡。

主要發現：2025 年第三季分析

以下發現是基於 MTN Consulting 截至 2025 年 9 月的季度審查。

就業與勞動成本

  • 員工總數：2025 年第三季度，全行業就業人數為 4,344,000 人，較去年同期下降 1.8%（約 82,000 個工作崗位）。這符合長期逐步萎縮的趨勢。多年來，員工人數一直依季度穩定下降，期間僅有一次短暫中斷。受新冠肺炎疫情影響，2020年第一季就業人數急劇下降，但第二季略有回升。
  • 全球勞動成本：2025年第三季年化勞動成本為2,601億美元。同期資本支出為2,948億美元，包括折舊和攤提在內的營運支出為3,330億美元。
  • 成本效益：2025年第三季度，人員費用佔營運費用（不包括折舊和攤提）的比例為21.9%。這比2025年第二季的21.7%略有上升，但與2024年第三季持平。
  • 成本平衡：同時，2025年第三季全球電信業務年度收入構成如下：人員費用14.3%，折舊及攤提18.4%，其他所有營運費用51.2%，營業利潤（息稅前利潤）16.1%。這一營業利潤率將是自2014年第三季（年化）以來的最高水平，當時的營業利潤率為16.8%。

覆蓋範圍：

全球數據基於我們的季度營運商追蹤報告，涵蓋 140 家營運商。

可對以下 72 家業者進行詳細分析：

  • A1 Telekom Austria
  • Advanced Info Service (AIS)
  • Airtel
  • Altice Europe
  • America Movil
  • AT&T
  • Axiata
  • Batelco
  • BCE
  • Bezeq Israel
  • Bouygues Telecom
  • BSNL
  • BT
  • China Mobile
  • China Telecom
  • China Unicom
  • Chunghwa Telecom
  • Cyfrowy Polsat
  • Deutsche Telekom
  • Du
  • Entel
  • Etisalat
  • Globe Telecom
  • Grupo Televisa
  • Iliad SA
  • KDDI
  • KPN
  • KT
  • LG Uplus
  • Megafon
  • Millicom
  • Mobile Telesystems
  • MTN Group
  • NTT
  • Oi
  • Omantel
  • Ooredoo
  • Orange
  • PCCW
  • PLDT
  • Proximus
  • Quebecor Telecommunications
  • Rogers
  • Rostelecom
  • Safaricom Limited
  • Singtel
  • SK Telecom
  • SoftBank
  • Spark New Zealand Limited
  • StarHub
  • STC (Saudi Telecom)
  • Swisscom
  • Taiwan Mobile
  • Tata Communications
  • Telecom Argentina
  • Telecom Egypt
  • Telecom Italia
  • Telefonica
  • Telenor
  • Telia
  • Telkom Indonesia
  • Telkom SA
  • Telstra
  • Telus
  • TPG Telecom Limited
  • True Corp
  • Turk Telekom
  • Turkcell
  • Verizon
  • Vodafone
  • Zain
  • Zain KSA

目錄

  • 1. 分析
  • 2. 員工數趨勢
  • 3. 全球結果
  • 4. 企業業績
  • 5. 排行榜
  • 6. 原始數據
  • 7. 關於本公司
Product Code: TAIA-24022026-1

Value proposition

This report analyzes the global telecommunications operator (telco) workforce, offering both a high-level view of industry shifts and granular, company-level data. For telcos, the report enables benchmarking of labor costs and productivity against 72 global peers, which can help optimize workforce transformation and AI integration strategies. For vendors, the report pinpoints telcos with high labor costs or labor-to-opex ratios and stagnant margins, identifying prime targets for solutions that drive operational efficiency and cost reduction. For investors, it clarifies the link (or lack thereof) between headcount and profitability.

Scope

This study monitors global employment dynamics within the telecommunications operator sector. MTN Consulting covers 140 telcos in its research, including 116 active companies. This "talent tracker" report provides a deep dive analysis of 72 key telcos, who represent roughly 85% of the global market. Data coverage spans from 1Q11 through 3Q25.

Introduction: The automation imperative

While global telecom revenues have remained flat, the industry's most successful players are thriving by shifting their focus from unrealistic growth projections to aggressive cost management. Central to this strategy is the adoption of automation, autonomous networks, and, more recently, AI-based technologies. MTN Consulting's Telecom AI & Automation (TAIA) module explores this transition.

The telco workforce is shrinking, and this trend is structural. Factors such as layoffs, voluntary retirement, and natural attrition are eroding total numbers, and the "average" employee profile is evolving. Telcos now prioritize staff adept in software coding, cloud services, AI, and quantum computing. AI in particular has caught on in the telco C-suite. Telcos have been automating around the edges for years, but now many are seeking to position themselves around AI specifically. Verizon, whose new CEO is eagerly cutting heads, said on the company's 4Q25 earnings call that the company's goal is to be the "most efficient telecom company" in the industry, and to do so it is "determined to be an AI-first company, deploying AI at scale."

While many other telco execs use similar language, the reality is that they all have to leverage their existing staff in order to thrive. Training and upskilling are essential tactics. On its recent 4Q25 earnings call, Swisscom's CEO said it is "constantly upskilling...so that we can continue to improve the overall performance of our employee base going forward, as we have really [demanding] work going on with the digital and AI transformation driving a lot of the change going forward." Success today depends on a delicate balance of retraining existing staff and strategic new hiring to meet these digital-first requirements.

The layoff paradox

Big-ticket layoff announcements frequently dominate the headlines. Verizon's late 2025 plan for a 15% workforce reduction remains the most significant recent move. Over the last 12 months, other major cuts were announced by AT&T, BCE, T-Mobile US, and Charter/Cox in the Americas; BT, Telefonica, and Vodafone in Europe; and Telstra in Asia-Pacific.

Operators often frame these cuts as essential for competition and profit. For example, BCE's November 2025 plan to cut 700 staff was presented as a "difficult but necessary decision" to support a C$1.5 billion (US$1.1B) cost-savings goal through 2028. However, our data reveals no direct correlation between headcount reductions and margin surges, even when accounting for a multi-quarter lag.

For many telcos, layoffs serve as a form of "virtue signaling" to reassure Wall Street of their commitment to cost reduction and dividends. The splash made by Verizon's new CEO since he joined in October 2025 is a good example. While drastic cuts can occasionally preserve near-term cash flow, simply reducing headcount is rarely a silver bullet. CxOs who rush to issue pink slips in response to the rise of AI risk creating talent gaps that lead to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, increased churn, or the loss of innovative capacity.

While layoffs aren't clearly linked to profits, workforce training may be. That's a working hypothesis. Consider the top 10 telcos based on their annualized EBIT per employee figures in 3Q25: Du, Batelco, Verizon, Zain KSA, Airtel, MTN Group, Omantel, STC, AT&T, and KPN. Most of these have vigorous training & upskilling programs aimed at evolving their workforce for new requirements. We will explore this further in future research.

Key findings: 3Q25 analysis

The following insights are based on MTN Consulting's quarterly review through September 2025.

Employment & labor costs

  • Total headcount: The sector employed 4.344 million people in 3Q25, a 1.8% year-over-year decline (roughly 82,000 positions). This aligns with long-term trends of steady contraction. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, headcount has fallen steadily for years, with only one interruption: after a dramatic dip in 1Q20 when COVID hit, employment levels rose slightly in 2Q20.
  • Global labor costs: Annualized labor costs were $260.1 billion in 3Q25. To put this in perspective, this compares to $294.8 billion in capex and $333.0 billion in depreciation opex for the same period.
  • Cost efficiency: As a percentage of opex (excluding D&A), labor costs were 21.9% in 3Q25, up slightly from 21.7% in 2Q25 but unchanged versus 3Q24.
  • Revenues mapped to costs: Alternatively, global annualized telco revenues in 3Q25 break down as follows: 14.3% to labor costs; 18.4% to depreciation and amortization; 51.2% to all other opex; and 16.1% as operating profit (EBIT). The EBIT portion is the highest since the 3Q14 annualized period, when EBIT/revenues was 16.8%.

Top workforce movers (3Q24-3Q25)

  • Biggest 1-year declines: The largest headcount drops between 3Q24 and 3Q25 were at Telefonica (down 10.1K employees), AT&T (-8.0K), BT (-7.9K), Charter Communications (-6.3K), China Mobile (-5.4K), and BCE (-5.2K). These are all big telcos with long-term plans for either workforce reductions or "streamlining." Automation has been a central part of headcount cuts at these and similar companies for many years; AI is only an after-thought. Of these five, BT's CEO has been most explicit about AI's impact, stating that BT's 2023 plan to cut up to 55,000 workers by 2030 may be too conservative, as it does "not reflect the full potential of AI", adding that "depending on what we learn from AI...there may be an opportunity to be even smaller by the end of the decade." However, the rate of workforce reduction has not accelerated in the face of AI; it's been about 2% per year since 2021.
  • Biggest 1-year gains: The largest headcount increases between 3Q24 and 3Q25 were at Airtel (+3.8K, 5G rollout hiring), Swisscom (+3.4K, acquisition of Vodafone Italia), KDDI (+3.4K, expansion in data center/AI, energy, fintech), MTS Russia (+3.1K, reorganization of digital/IT units), and America Movil (+3.0K, expanding fiber broadband rollout needs). When headcount growth occurs, the causes are usually acquisition or consolidation, short-term network rollout needs related to 5G or FTTH, and occasionally expansion into new market areas. The last driver is least common in telecom.
  • Biggest % changes in employment since 3Q24: These often result from spinoffs, asset sales, and M&A activity. Swisscom, for instance, grew headcount by 17.0% between 3Q24 and 3Q25 due to acquisition of Vodafone Italia. Airtel's 15.3% increase is due to 5G rollout support. AIS increased headcount by 11.7% due to its acquisition of fixed operator Triple T Broadband. The biggest percentage declines were at TDS Telecom (-42.1%, sale of affiliated wireless business to T-Mobile), Liberty Global (-29.8%, Sunrise spinoff), Axiata (-25.9%, portfolio optimization), Spark NZ (-25.2%, mix of layoffs and outsourcing to Nokia), and Africa's MTN Group (-18.2%, restructuring & portfolio optimization).

Profitability & performance

  • Labor costs/opex: Telcos spending the most on workforce, measured by labor costs as a percentage of opex (ex-D&A), include: Oi (64%), BSNL (46%), Turk Telekom (44%), Rostelecom (43%), and Telus (42%). Those spending the least include Softbank (6%), Taiwan Mobile (8%), Airtel (9%), True Corp (9%), and TPG Telecom (11%). Companies with low labor costs tend to have high external costs, such as interconnection, roaming, facility leasing, or outsourced sales and marketing to partners or franchises. Those with high labor costs often have complicated histories as incumbent providers, high pension costs, high unionization rates, and may own substantial infrastructure leased to others. Some also conduct their own R&D and design, such as Chunghwa, BT, Orange, and NTT.
  • Labor cost per employee: The global average rose to $59.4K in 3Q25, up from $51.2K 6 years prior in 3Q19. This growth is largely driven by rising salaries in emerging markets. For instance, China Telecom's average cost rose from $30K to $49K in that period.
  • EBIT per employee: This KPI is on a strong upward trajectory, growing from $49.3K in 3Q19 to $66.9K in 3Q25. On average, telco employees are generating 36% more profit per person than they were six years ago.

The Webscale Crossover

In 1Q11, the telco sector employed nearly four times as many people as the webscale sector. Following years of rapid hyperscale growth and telco consolidation, the two sectors reached parity in 2Q24. As of 3Q25, webscale headcount is now ~3% higher than that of the global telco sector.

Telcos tend to hire lots of people in two groups: network/IT engineers, and sales & customer support staff. Telcos will continue to need people in these areas for many years to come, but the needs are declining. Geographic and scale efficiencies, automation, autonomous networking, and now AI all are allowing the telco workforce to do more with less.

By contrast, webscalers continue to branch out and have more diverse hiring needs. They do hire plenty of software engineers, but that's not all. Some hire lots of logistics and fulfillment staff; some hire retail specialists. All key webscalers spend heavily on R&D, and in a number of different areas: robotics, drones, aerospace, quantum computing, gaming. Nowadays there is high demand in areas like chip and DC infrastructure design, cloud platform development, AI model training, etc. Telcos spend next to nothing on R&D, though, relying instead on their supply chain for innovation.

Coverage:

Global figures are based on quarterly telco tracker, which covers 140 telcos.

Deep dive analysis for the following 72 telcos:

  • A1 Telekom Austria
  • Advanced Info Service (AIS)
  • Airtel
  • Altice Europe
  • America Movil
  • AT&T
  • Axiata
  • Batelco
  • BCE
  • Bezeq Israel
  • Bouygues Telecom
  • BSNL
  • BT
  • China Mobile
  • China Telecom
  • China Unicom
  • Chunghwa Telecom
  • Cyfrowy Polsat
  • Deutsche Telekom
  • Du
  • Entel
  • Etisalat
  • Globe Telecom
  • Grupo Televisa
  • Iliad SA
  • KDDI
  • KPN
  • KT
  • LG Uplus
  • Megafon
  • Millicom
  • Mobile Telesystems
  • MTN Group
  • NTT
  • Oi
  • Omantel
  • Ooredoo
  • Orange
  • PCCW
  • PLDT
  • Proximus
  • Quebecor Telecommunications
  • Rogers
  • Rostelecom
  • Safaricom Limited
  • Singtel
  • SK Telecom
  • SoftBank
  • Spark New Zealand Limited
  • StarHub
  • STC (Saudi Telecom)
  • Swisscom
  • Taiwan Mobile
  • Tata Communications
  • Telecom Argentina
  • Telecom Egypt
  • Telecom Italia
  • Telefonica
  • Telenor
  • Telia
  • Telkom Indonesia
  • Telkom SA
  • Telstra
  • Telus
  • TPG Telecom Limited
  • True Corp
  • Turk Telekom
  • Turkcell
  • Verizon
  • Vodafone
  • Zain
  • Zain KSA

Table of Contents

  • 1. Analysis
  • 2. Headcount trends
  • 3. Global results
  • 4. Company results
  • 5. Rankings
  • 6. Raw data
  • 7. About

List of Figures and Charts

Headcount tab

  • Telco sector: Headcount and YoY % change
  • Telco sector: QoQ change in headcount (K)
  • Telcos: Biggest headcount changes, 3Q24 to 3Q25 (employees)
  • Telcos: Biggest headcount changes, 3Q22 to 3Q25 (employees)
  • Telcos: Biggest headcount changes, 3Q24 to 3Q25 (1 yr % change)
  • Telcos: Biggest headcount changes, 3Q22 to 3Q25 (3 yr % change)

Global tab

  • Global market: Breakdown of costs over time vs. headcount
  • YoY % change in key metrics, 3Q25 (single quarter basis)
  • YoY % change in key metrics, 3Q25 (annualized basis)
  • Telco market: Labor costs, D&A opex, and capex ($B, annualized)
  • Telco market: Labor costs, D&A opex, and capex (% of revenues, annualized)
  • Telco market: Total employees (K) and YoY % change
  • Telco market: Quarterly sequential change in headcount (K employees)
  • Telco market: Employees vs. Revenue per employee (annualized)
  • Telco market: Employees vs. Labor cost per employee (annualized)
  • Labor costs as a % of opex ex-D&A, annualized: Key telcos vs. global average
  • Headcount by region: Telcos based in US, Europe, and China (K)
  • Labor cost variation: Verizon, China Mobile, and Orange vs. global avg ($K/yr, annualized)
  • Headcount by region: Telcos based in US, Europe, and China (% global)
  • Telco earnings as % of revenues, global average (annualized)
  • Telco earnings per employee, global average ($k/yr, annualized)
  • Telco vs. Webscale: Revenue per employee ($K/yr, annualized)
  • Telco vs. Webscale: # of employees (K)

Company tab [for each of 72 telcos, following charts are included]:

  • Revenues mapped to costs, vs. headcount
  • YoY % change in key metrics, 3Q25 (single quarter basis)
  • YoY % change in key metrics, 3Q25 (annualized basis)
  • Labor costs, D&A opex, and capex ($B, annualized)
  • Labor costs, D&A opex, and capex (% of revenues, annualized)
  • Total employees (K) and YoY % change
  • Quarterly sequential change in headcount (K employees)
  • Employees vs. Revenue per employee (annualized)
  • Employees vs. Labor cost per employee (annualized)
  • Labor costs as a % of opex ex-D&A, annualized: [company] vs. global average
  • EBIT (operating) profit margin: [company] vs. global average (annualized)
  • EBIT per employee: [company] vs. global average ($k/yr)

Rankings tab

  • Labor costs to capex ratio: Telcos ranked, high to low, for 3Q25 annualized period
  • Telcos ranked high to low based on:
    • Labor costs, % opex ex-D&A (3Q25 annualized)
    • Labor costs, % total opex
    • Labor costs, % of revenue
    • D&A, % total opex
    • All other opex, % total
    • EBIT margin
    • EBITDA margin
    • Capex intensity
  • Telcos ranked high to low, based on:
    • Revenue per employee
    • Labor cost per employee
    • EBIT per employee