The BBC’s newsroom has said they are to axe around 450 jobs in order to meet the £80m savings target by 2022.
Fran Unsworth the BBC News director said they are moving away from traditional broadcasting and towards digital. BBC News currently employs 6,000 people with 1,700 overseas.
Unsworth said, “The BBC has to face up to the changing way audiences are using us.
“We have to adapt and ensure we continue to be the world’s most trusted news organisation, but, crucially, one which is also relevant for the people we are not currently reaching.
“We need to reshape BBC News for the next five to 10-years in a way which saves substantial amounts of money.
“We are spending too much of our resources on traditional linear broadcasting and not enough on digital.
“Our duty as a publicly-funded broadcaster is to inform, educate and entertain every citizen. But there are many people in this country that we are not serving well enough.
“I believe that we have a vital role to play locally, nationally and internationally. In fact, we are fundamental to contributing to a healthy democracy in the UK and around the world. If we adapt, we can continue to be the most important news organisation in the world.”
Newsnight will see a reduction in films produced and there will post closure on the BBC Two programme.
There will be job cuts to the World Update programme on the World Service, BBC Radio 5 Live along with the Victoria Derbyshire programme being axed.
Michelle Stanistreet the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said in a statement, “These damaging cuts are part of an existential threat to the BBC and a direct consequence of the last disastrous, secret licence fee deal the BBC agreed with the government.
“This is before the impact of taking over responsibility for the over-75s licences kicks in.
“Against this backdrop, the BBC’s very existence is being threatened with public service broadcasting under unprecedented threat.
“If the government goes ahead and decriminalises non-payment of the licence fee, we know the impact will be further losses for the BBC of around £200m a year and increased collection costs of £45m.
“Such a politically-motivated move dressed up as concern for the mythical imprisonment of vulnerable members of society, will serve to undermine one of the UK’s strongest success stories, emasculating a brand renowned and respected across the globe.”
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