BBC World Service Cuts Hundreds Of Jobs

The BBC World Service will be cutting hundreds of jobs as part of a cost-saving plan that will see five of its overseas services close.

The BBC World Service is funded separately from the UK licence fee

Goldie Momen Putrym, Sky News Online
The BBC World Service will be cutting hundreds of jobs as part of a cost-saving plan that will see five of its overseas services close.

BBC

The BBC World Service is funded separately from the UK licence fee

Five language services will shut down after a cut to the World Service's Grant-in-Aid funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The national broadcaster will confirm the exact number of job losses later, but it is thought that 650 people may be affected.

The move stems from a 16% savings target set at the Government spending review on 20 October.

BBC global news director Peter Horrocks said the scale-back was necessary due to the scale of the funding cuts.

He added: "We need to focus our efforts in the languages where there is the greatest need and where we have the strongest impact."

The services due to close are Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian, Portuguese outputs for Africa, and an English-language service for the Caribbean.

Unions have been angered by the news which follows the recent announcement that the organisation will be slashing its online budget, causing the loss of 360 jobs.

Jeremy Dear, of the National Union of Journalists, said: "These ferocious cuts to a valued national service are ultimately the responsibility of the coalition Government, whose policies are destroying quality public services in the UK.

"These cuts are a direct result of the Government slashing funding to an internationally respected and successful broadcaster.

"By cutting the service, the Government will cut British influence in the rest of the world, and cuts will also be deeply damaging for objective quality news services around the globe."

But some officials said the service, which receives millions in funding from the FCO, should cut back along with the rest of the economy.

The BBC World Service currently employs 2,400 people in television, radio and online roles and broadcasts in 32 languages.