The BBC is to cut as many as 2,000 jobs, affecting 10% of its 21,500 employees, in what is being described as the biggest scaling back in 15 years.
According to The Guardian, staff at the broadcaster were to be informed of the cuts on Wednesday afternoon in an all-staff meeting, with interim director general Rhodri Talfan Davies expected to announce the redundancies.
News of the cuts — representing the biggest job cuts at the BBC since 2011 — come before top Google exec Matt Brittin takes the reins as director general in May.
In February, the BBC unveiled a £600 million ($815 million) cost-cutting plan over the next three years and warned that it would result in jobs losses alongside the reduction in some programming. At the time, then director general Tim Davie said the BBC would need to shave some 10% off its roughly £6 billion ($8.1 billion) annual cost base.
Davie officially left the BBC on April 2 having announced his resignation in November amid growing controversy regarding the corporation’s coverage of Gaza and Donald Trump, who at the time said he was suing the BBC which he accused of doctoring a speech.
“Over the last three years we have delivered more than half a billion pounds’ worth of savings, much of which we’ve been able to reinvest into our output across the BBC,” a spokesperson said in February.
“In a rapidly changing media market, we continue to face substantial financial pressures. This is about the BBC becoming more productive and prioritising our offer to audiences to ensure we’re providing the best value for money, both now and in the future.”
