Leaked Details Say BBC Will Cut 1,500 Extra Jobs

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC.YY) is to cut about 1,500 jobs in news and other programs over three years, a source close to the situation said, the BBC reports on its Web site.

Complex plans were approved by the corporation's governors and later director general Mark Thompson met the three broadcasting unions.

In leaked details, a senior source said these cuts would be on top of those already planned. Unions have said they will fight the cuts.

BBC governors approved plans to make 15% budget savings in the meeting with management on Thursday to discuss Thompson's plans for the corporation's future.

Details of the latest cuts were leaked to the BBC's Labor Affairs Correspondent Stephen Cape, by a senior well-placed source.

The source said that every BBC department would be affected by the job losses, including news, sport, children's programs and new media.

Re #5

The announcement of 2,000 job cut is done a week ago. There is another news report about this. So this appears to be new cuts.

UK's BBC to cut a further 1,500 jobs - report

LONDON (AFX) - The BBC will announce a further 1,500 redundancies in its news, sport, drama and children's television divisions, according to a report in the Independent this morning.

BBC, which only last week announced 1,730 job cuts, hopes to save around 200 ml stg per year from the additional redundancies, said the paper.

total number of employees: 28,000

BBC staff set to strike over job cuts

By Alexa Baracaia Media Correspondent, Evening Standard
18 March 2005

BBC staff are set to take industrial action after it emerged today that bosses will axe 1,500 posts in the latest round of job cuts.

BBC governors are believed to have approved a second wave of job losses in news and other programmes to save about £200 million.

It follows last week's announcement that 1,730 jobs would be cut in the Professional Services division, with 980 staff made redundant and a further 750 outsourced to offices around Britain.

The latest move could prompt strike action. Broadcast union leaders will meet next week to decide their next move.

A formal announcement about the cuts will be made on Monday following the governors' meeting yesterday.

Sectors affected by the latest cull include news, sport, drama, children's programmes and new media. Other areas throughout the BBC are set to be hit over the next three years.

It is understood the BBC will tell unions it wants to achieve the cuts by voluntary redundancies. But some union officials believe the quota will be difficult to achieve without compulsory job cuts - which, they have already warned, would prompt them to ballot for industrial action.

Morale is at an all-time low after director-general Mark Thompson delivered news of the losses by video. The cuts represent close to a halving of the professional services workforce, many in London.

A union spokesman warned then: "Voluntary redundancies will be challenged by any means at our disposal, including industrial action."

BBC employees have already staged protests over the costcutting plans, described as "savage" by union leaders. The BBC claims the savings from the cuts will go into reinvesting in programmes as part a budget overhaul unveiled by Mr Thompson in December.

The cuts are expected to save £139 million per year, contributing to £355million cost savings overall. They amount to a £35 million increase on the £320 million budget savings the BBC announced last year.

Total redundancies could rise above 6,000 of the full 28,000 workforce over three years.

A BBC spokesman declined to comment about the latest job losses until staff had been fully briefed.

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