Cutting jobs is an earner

BT axe man Gavin Patterson has trousered £1million extra in his pay, despite announcing 13,000 job losses at the telecoms giant.

The chief executive took home £2.3m last year including a £1.3m bonus, said BT’s annual report.

He had a £997,000 base salary plus £299,000 in pension payments.

The previous year he banked just £1.3m after being stripped of his bonus because of an accounting scandal at the firm’s Italian division.

The news comes just weeks after BT said it was slashing 13,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Job losses will mainly affect back office staff and middle managers, with two-thirds of the cuts in the UK.

A BT spokesman said: “Gavin’s total remuneration was as a result of targets being met for customer service improvement and cash flow.”