BBC announces cuts to English regional TV, radio, online output

The BBC is to cut 450 jobs in its English regional TV news and current affairs, local radio and online news.

Seven of the 20 presenters on 6.30pm regional TV bulletins will be cut, and some local radio shows will be axed.

   

The cuts are expected to save £25m by 2022, and follow news of job losses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The BBC has previously said it must save £125m this year because of financial pressures resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

The proposed cuts are on top of the 450 redundancies previously announced – and subsequently put on hold – by BBC News.

Regional TV and online news teams will be merged, and there will no longer be an online editorial hub in Birmingham.

Helen Thomas, the director of BBC England, said the corporation’s local and regional services were created more than 50 years ago, and “have changed very little and need significant reinvention”.

“We’re going to modernise our offer to audiences in England by making digital a central part of everything we do. We’ll take forward lessons from COVID19 that will make us more agile and more in touch with communities while also ensuring we’re as efficient as we can be”.

Courtesy: BBC

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