Heavy cuts look set to strike BBC News as part of a wider corporation plan aimed at saving £550 million by 2021-22.
The news broadcaster, which employs approximately 7,400 people, has already saved £5 million as part of an overall BBC initiative designed to save £150 million by 2017, but it is bracing itself for further cuts. Head of BBC News James Harding unveiled the estimated £80 million cuts on Monday. The final proposals will be released in late March.
A BBC spokesman said: “No decisions have been taken and no recommendations have yet been made.” The cuts are a result of Harding’s “Future of BBC News” project, launched in January and spanning three months. In a BBC blog post to staff in January, Harding outlined the aims of the project. He said: “We are going to have to make choices [because] we can’t afford to do everything.” READ MORE