The BBC is to cut more than 2,000 jobs in its programme-making division, taking total job losses to 3,780.
The cuts, announced today, are part of director general Mark Thompson’s plans to streamline the BBC and re-invest £355m in programme making. He told staff it was “the toughest period any of us can remember”.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the cuts would “rip the heart out” of the corporation.
Today’s announcement of 2,050 losses comes after news earlier this month that 1,730 jobs would go in support services such as HR, finance and marketing.
Thompson said it was “a difficult and painful process but necessary”. The cuts and savings will be made over the next three years.
NUJ general secretary, Jeremy Dear, said staff were being used as “political pawns” in “an unsavoury and grubby deal between government and senior BBC management”.
“How can hard-working staff maintain quality while trying to do not only their own job but that of thousands of their colleagues too?” he said. “The inevitable result is that staff will face burn-out, while standards and quality will be damaged.”
