BBC to Cut New Jobs to Save Millions

The BBC is cutting jobs in a cost-saving measure, with the most of those cuts coming from its news division, according to an internal memo. 

BBC chief executive Deborah Turness made the announcement in Tuesday email to staff, saying the cuts were part of an overall effort to trim costs.  The publicly funded broadcaster indicated that these measures, which will result in savings of £24 million, will be somewhat balanced by the creation of 55 new positions.

"We have worked hard to find savings that don't require us to close roles," Turness said in her email, which was obtained by the press Gazette. "In fact, more than 40% of these savings will come from non-staff measures including reductions to spend on contracts, suppliers, distribution and physical buildings. 

"But with staff costs accounting for 75% of our overall budget, I'm sorry to say that post closures are unavoidable."

The job cuts coincide with the BBC's plan to reduce its workforce by around 500 employees by March 2026. As part of these reductions, two programs—Hardtalk, a current affairs show airing Monday to Thursday on BBC World News, and Click, a technology program—are being discontinued.

Hardtalk host Stephen Sackur, in a post on X, said it was “sad news” on a personal level, and “ much more important, depressing news for the BBC”.

Turness, in her email to staff, said the BBC will focus on “continuous live and breaking output” on its news channel moving forward, as well as “promote the high impact interviews and important conversations that are happening everyday across our platforms”.

The BBC job cuts add to an already brutal year for the media world. Scripps recently announced it’s “winding down” its TV news business and cut 200 jobs. And the year started out with a flurry of layoffs at outlets like the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, Business Insider and Forbes, among others.