BBC announces 450 job cuts in bid to meet savings target

The BBC has announced this afternoon that around 450 jobs will be cut from its news service in order to meet its savings target.

The company, which currently employs roughly 6,000 people, is attempting to save £800m by 2022, with £80m of that figure being attributed to BBC News.

There will be a reduction of positions on BBC Two’s Newsnight, along with BBC Radio 5 Live and the World Service.

The company stated that the cuts were partially due to the changes in the way that its audience consumes content.

Fran Unsworth, director of BBC News, said: “The BBC has to face up to the changing way audiences are using us.

“We need to reshape BBC News for the next five to 10 years in a way which saves substantial amounts of money.

“We are spending too much of our resources on traditional linear broadcasting and not enough on digital.”

The company also added that there were likely to be fewer stories produced as a result.

The general secretary for the National Union of Journalists, Michelle Stanistreet, commented: “These damaging cuts are part of an existential threat to the BBC, and a direct consequence of the last disastrous, secret licence fee deal the BBC agreed with the government.”

Broadcasting union Bectu has also responded to the news.

Noel McClean, national secretary for the union, said: “The unprecedented constraints faced by the BBC will leave our members under even more pressure to deliver the output and service that has made this essential public service the envy of the international broadcasting community and risks its future viability.”

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