BBC to cut up to 1,000 staff in bid to save £500 million a year

The UK’s national broadcaster plans to cut up to 1,000 members of staff over the next few years, as part of a plan to save £500 million annually.

It is part of the BBC’s plan to become a “digital-led” media organization set out by the Director-General Tim Davie in a speech to staff. The BBC will now have a single 24-hour news channel for both UK and International audiences, and stop broadcasting on smaller channels like CBBC, BBC Four, and Radio 4 Extra.

The cuts come after UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries froze the corporation’s license fee in January for two years, holding the flat tariff paid by anyone in the UK who uses a television set or BBC services online at £159 ($200), while inflation soars.

Dorries has repeatedly criticized the funding model, said this license fee will be “the last” before it is changed, and taken aim at the culture of the BBC.

She has also pressed ahead with the controversial privatisation of Channel 4, which is also state-owned but is privately-funded. Bloomberg