Hundreds of BBC News staff are facing redundancy in a brutal cost-saving drive that could be announced as early as Wednesday, with the corporation’s new director general, Matt Brittin, signalling he will cut entire services or programmes rather than resort to “salami slicing”.
The cuts, which run to hundreds of jobs, mark the start of a £500m savings programme across the BBC — part of a plan to reduce annual operating costs from £5bn over the next two years. Rhodri Talfan Davies, the deputy director general, told staff in an April email that the corporation expected to shed up to 2,000 posts.
“BBC News faces hundreds of job cuts starting Wednesday as part of a £500m cost-saving drive, with deeper cuts than the 10% pan-BBC target.”
But BBC News, which employs roughly a quarter of the BBC’s 21,500-strong workforce, is bracing for even deeper cuts than the 10% target applied across the organisation. During a video meeting last month, staff were warned that the news division faces a 15% reduction in income. “Most of our savings are people, frankly,” Richard Burgess, the director of news and content, told staff. “[The cuts will be] 15% of our income. Our income is not entirely salary bill, although it is the majority. Ultimately, [10% is] a figure across the whole of the BBC, but that doesn’t take into account that there are areas it’s just not possible to make cuts in.”
The plans, the biggest at the broadcaster in 15 years, were drawn up before Brittin’s arrival. But his preference for decisive action — eliminating services or programmes rather than incremental reductions — is expected to be met with some opposition. The news operation is the first department to reveal detailed redundancy plans, amid crunch talks with ministers over the BBC’s future funding.
Signs of the corporation’s cost-cutting have already emerged during the World Cup, with presenters and pundits covering the tournament from Salford rather than travelling to the host nations. The new studio will later be used for Match of the Day.