BBC planning to axe hundreds of jobs

THE BBC has announced plans to cut around 1,000 jobs to save more than £50m to address a funding shortfall.

Director-General Tony Hall said the corporation would become leaner as a result of  merging divisions, cutting down management layers, reducing managers and improving processes.  

He said: “A simpler, leaner, BBC is the right thing to do and it can also help us meet the financial challenges we face.

“We’ve already significantly cut the costs of running the BBC, but in times of very tough choices we need to focus on what really matters – delivering outstanding programmes and content for all our audiences.”

The publicly-funded corporation has come under fire in the West Midlands its apparent lack of commitment to the region, preferring instead to plough resources into MediaCity in Salford.

The corporation said last year it was planning to move almost 200 people to its base in the Mailbox as the facility became home to a new skills and talent centre.

The BBC Academy, the BBC’s centre for in-house and industry wide training, will move to the city later this year, alongside the core of the BBC’s HR and Internal Communications.

The academy offers training and development for the UK broadcast industry and will also work with local companies to increase the talent base in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

In total, it will move 190 roles to Birmingham by the end of 2015.  There will also be a Digital Innovation Unit at the Custard Factory in Digbeth, the Space digital arts partnership, BBC Trainee and apprenticeship schemes.

How this will be impacted by the latest announcement is unclear at present.

It said the four key areas for making the savings are:
•    Merging divisions, bringing together teams in BBC and BBC Worldwide
•    Cutting out management layers, reducing management levels from up to 10 in places to seven
•    Reducing management roles, bringing down the number of senior positions
•    Simplifying procedures in professional areas including legal, marketing and finance

The BBC’s main funding platform, the television licence, has been frozen at £145.50 for seven years, limiting its investment plans.

The corporation’s charter, which decides how the public broadcasting service is run, is due to run out at the end of next year.

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