The BBC has confirmed it will cut between 1,800 and 2,000 jobs – almost one in 10 of its workforce – as part the biggest cost-saving programme in a generation hours after reports first emerged of sweeping reductions.
The broadcaster told staff on a 3pm all-hands call that it needs to deliver £500m in savings over the next two years, with headcount reductions forming a central part of that plan.
It follows earlier reporting by Prolific North, which revealed that significant job losses were expected across the organisation.
Interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies said the cuts were being driven by “significant financial pressures” facing the corporation.
“Put simply, the gap between our costs and our income is growing,” he told staff in an email following the meeting.
“This is being driven by a number of factors: production inflation remains very high; our licence fee and commercial income is under pressure; and the global economy remains turbulent.”
The BBC currently employs around 21,500 full-time equivalent staff, meaning the planned reductions represent one of the largest rounds of cuts in more than a decade.
Talfan Davies warned that all areas of the organisation would be under review, with no guarantee that services or channels would be protected.
“We need to look at everything,” he said in a separate interview, adding that “big and difficult choices” lay ahead.
Further detail on which divisions and roles will be affected is expected later this year, with internal planning ongoing ahead of the 2027-28 financial year.
The cuts come just weeks before Matt Brittin formally takes over as director-general on 18 May, succeeding Tim Davie.
Union leaders have already warned of the impact on staff and output. Philippa Childs said cuts of this scale would be “devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole”, while Laura Davison described them as “brutal” and damaging to the corporation’s ability to deliver quality journalism.
The BBC has already delivered more than £500m in savings over the past three years, but says further efficiencies are required as it faces declining licence fee income, rising costs and intensifying competition from global streaming platforms.
The latest announcement also follows earlier, more targeted cuts affecting the North. Earlier this year, the BBC proposed closing its Central Longform Investigations Unit – a Salford-managed team dedicated to regional investigative journalism – putting eight roles at risk as part of wider BBC Local savings.
The unit, created less than four years ago following the axing of We Are England, was designed to strengthen longform investigative storytelling across the English regions.
Its potential closure has raised questions about the future of regional investigations, with unions warning that repeated cuts risk undermining the breadth and depth of local journalism.
Alongside job losses, the corporation is tightening spending across recruitment, travel, consultancies and events, while also exploring ways to reduce duplication and streamline operations.
The announcement comes amid ongoing negotiations with the government over the future of the licence fee ahead of the next Royal Charter period, with Lisa Nandy saying the BBC, “like every institution”, must make “difficult decisions”.
