BBC Announces 2,000 Job Cuts

LONDON: In a bid to reach savings of about £670 million annually by 2016/17, the BBC has announced a number of measures, including axing about 2,000 jobs across the organization.

The proposed cost-cuts by BBC management come in the wake of the October 2010 license fee settlement that froze the license fee to 2017 and saw the pubcaster taking on financial responsibility for World Service, S4C, BBC Monitoring and local TV and broadband. These require it to make savings of at least 16 percent of the current license fee income. Further, Mark Thompson, director-general, has said an additional 4-percent savings target for reinvestment back into content. As a result, the BBC must save £670 million a year, together with £30 million of savings generated by exceeding the targets for the BBC’s current efficiency program. This will result in total savings by 2016/17 of 20 percent, the BBC said.

"This is a plan which puts quality and creativity first," Thompson said. "It’s a plan for a smaller BBC, but a BBC which uses its resources more effectively and collaboratively to deliver a full range of services to the public. The plan meets the savings target we agreed in last year’s licence-fee settlement, but also identifies nearly £150 million per year to invest in new high quality output and in the platforms and services of the future. But it is a plan which also means stretching efficiencies and significant job losses. It’s my judgement that this is the last time the BBC will be able to make this level of savings without a substantial loss of services or quality or both."