ITV plans more cost cuts

ITV is understood to be looking for new ways to cut costs of up to £10 million due to the deteriorating economic climate.

ITV’s chief operating officer John Cresswell sent a note to staff yesterday to inform them of the further cost cuts, which could see another round of redundancies, according to reports.

Cresswell said that due to the continuing economic downturn the “need for action is urgent”, adding that staff should expect a review of all aspects of ITV’s operations.

He said: “We need to accelerate our plans to improve the efficiency of all our operations now.”

In September, ITV announced plans to reduce staff numbers by 1,000, which is nearly 20% of its total workforce, in a move to save £40 million a year.

In the note, Cresswell praised the “great performance” of top-rating ITV1 programmes such as I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and The X Factor, but said further cost reductions were necessary.

“There is still a lot more to do, these are extraordinary times for ITV, the economic outlook has worsened significantly since the summer and businesses right across the UK including most of our customers are facing considerable uncertainty,” he said.

The broadcaster is currently in talks with Boston Consulting Group to find areas of potential cost-cutting across the business.

Cresswell said the company has a “duty of care” to staff, shareholders and customers to “keep ITV in sound financial health, which means keeping our costs as low as possible”.

However, ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has repeatedly said that the £1 billion a year programming budget will be maintained to drive his content focused recovery strategy.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com