The BBC is to cut 500 jobs over the next 20 months in a bid to save 200 million pounds ($258 million) and become a “smaller, more nimble organisation”, Britain’s public broadcaster said on Tuesday.
The redundancies, which are to be achieved by closing and transferring some roles and creating others in “growth areas”, are the latest redundancies as the BBC faces a funding squeeze and inflationary pressures.
The broadcaster, which relies heavily on an annual license fee of £169.50 paid by every UK household watching live channels on a TV, is also facing wider changes in media consumption such as streaming and streaming services. requirement.
It will shed 500 jobs by March 2026 after already reducing its workforce by 10 percent over the past five years — a reduction of nearly 2,000 positions.
Detailing the changes in its annual report published on Tuesday, the BBC said the move was part of “accelerating our digital approach to reach audiences where they are”.
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“Over the next two years, we will look to move our money further into the priority areas that deliver real value for the public,” it said.
In his review of the past year, chief executive Tim Davie said years of under-inflation license fee settlements had “disappeared” his income and were putting a “severe strain on our finances”.
Although inflation-linked increases have been restored, he noted that the broadcaster had suffered a 30% cut in real terms from 2010 to 2020 and a “difficult two years of uniform funding”.
The BBC collected £80m less in license fee income last year due to a two per cent fall in sales volume and flat license fee pricing.
The number of active licenses fell from 24.4 million in 2022-23 to 23.9 million by the end of last year, according to the annual report.
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“We need to create a leaner, more agile organization and make the most of the digital-first opportunity to redesign our processes, reduce costs and better serve the public,” Davie said.
“We also need to consider how best to fund the BBC in the long term to ensure all the benefits of universal public service broadcasting in the future.”
The BBC chief said this would also require discussions with the government about the “right way” to fund the BBC World Service at “a critical time for democracy worldwide”.
Source: AFP