BBC to cut more than 100 management jobs and suspend bonuses

The BBC will slash its £79m senior management pay bill by a quarter, cutting more than 100 jobs by 2013.

Under plans approved by the broadcaster’s regulator BBC Trust, 18% of senior management positions will be cut, a current pay freeze for executive board members will be extended, and executive directors will face an “indefinite” suspension on their bonuses, in a bid to save £20m in personnel costs.

The move comes after BBC executives were ordered by the trust to compare their remuneration packages with those of commercial broadcasters, the Financial Times reported.

Last year, BBC bosses agreed to give up their bonuses for 2009, and an 18-month pay freeze was introduced in January for senior employees.

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Michael Lyons, the BBC Trust’s chairman, said: “It is right that as a major public service organisation, the BBC shows leadership on this issue during difficult economic times.”

Lyons added the new plan would “strike the right balance between ensuring the BBC can attract the best people to do the job, while ensuring maximum value for the licence fee payer.”