BBC expected to cut up to 600 news and radio jobs

The BBC is to announce it is cutting up to 600 jobs in its news and radio departments as part of its cost-cutting programme, according to a report in Forbes.

Next month, the Corporation is expected to announce that it will cut between 475 and 500 jobs from its news division, with a further 75 to 85 going from its UK radio operation.

Currently, BBC News employs around 8,000 people and if the cuts go ahead around 6% of the department is expected to go over the next two years.

The job cuts form part of the BBC’s ‘Delivering Quality First’ programme, which aims to save £800 million per year out of the BBC’s overall public-service income of around £3.6 billion.

The BBC’s director of news, James Harding, announced 75 job cuts in his division last year, but said that “further substantial savings” would have to follow.

A BBC spokesman said: “We’re working at present to deliver savings of £800 million a year by 2016/17 and we have said that there are difficult decisions ahead of us. Whilst we need to make savings, it would be wrong to comment on speculation.”