The BBC is to make its biggest job cuts in 15 years, with almost 10% of staff roles set to go.
The corporation told employees yesterday that 1,800 to 2,000 jobs could go from its 21,500-strong workforce as part of wider cost-cutting measures.
In February, the BBC announced it needed to cut up to £600m in costs, with headcount and programme among areas in the firing line.
Following a company-wide meeting, interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies said in an email to staff:
“As you know, the BBC is facing significant financial pressures, which we need to respond to with pace.
“Put simply, the gap between our costs and our income is growing. This is being driven by a number of factors: production inflation remains very high; our licence fee and commercial income is under pressure; and the global economy remains turbulent.
“To address this, we need to save an additional £500m from our total annual operating costs of £5bn over the next two years, with the bulk of the new savings required in 2027-28.
“Inevitably, these plans will also mean reducing the number of jobs in the BBC. While we still have to work through the detail, we anticipate that the overall number of jobs will fall by 1,800-2,000. I know this creates real uncertainty, but we wanted to be open about the challenge.”
The broadcaster is further tightening its belt with tighter controls on recruitment and travel, management consultancies, and expenditure on attendance at conferences, awards and events.
Talfan Davies said BBC divisions are examining “how they can reduce areas of duplication” and “what activity they might be able to stop”.
The corporation will outline spending plans for each division for the 2027-28 financial year in September.
“In parallel, we’re also looking at our ways of working across the organisation to identify areas where we can reduce costs together – by harnessing new technology and developing more consistent or simpler processes,” he added.
Details of the cuts come as new director general Matt Brittin prepares to start in the role on 18 May.
Bectu head Philippa Childs said the magnitude of the cuts will be “devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole”.
She added: “Further cuts of this scale will inevitably damage its ability to deliver on its public mission. The government must ensure that charter renewal puts the BBC’s funding on a more secure, long-term pathway and prevent our national broadcaster facing death by a thousand cuts.”
