BBC to cut 550 jobs in cost-saving drive, including news division layoffs

London: Britain's BBC public service broadcaster will cut 550 jobs, including in its news and content divisions, it said on Wednesday, as part of plans under new director-general Matt Brittin to save £500 million over the next three ‌years.

The BBC ⁠is ⁠facing a battle to stay relevant as viewers, particularly younger audiences, ​shift to streamers and other digital platforms.

In March, the corporation named ​former Google executive Brittin as its new director general. At the time, BBC Chair Samir Shah said there ​was a need for radical ⁠reform at ‌the publicly funded organisation, and Brittin said ​it faced ​a moment of "real risk".


The cuts to its ⁠news operation will include closing some long-running programmes, ​merging production teams across shows and a review ​of senior on-air roles.

The BBC, which had about 21,500 employees as of March last year, said the full package of changes announced on Wednesday would deliver around £160 million of the £500 million target. Further savings, ‌including cuts of around 700 corporate division jobs, would be announced in the coming ​months, it ​said.

Total job losses ⁠would be around 1,800 to 2,000 over the next three years.

Brittin must negotiate a new funding settlement after the broadcaster's ​Royal Charter expires at the end of 2027. Options include retaining the licence fee paid by TV-watching households or moving to subscriptions or funding from advertising.