BBC will cut 500 jobs in the coming two years: Annual report

U.K. broadcaster BBC will cut its payroll by around 500 people between now and March 2026 amid a bleak report on its financial future.

The report, which was released July 23, 2024, “shows a year of creative excellence and transformation against financial pressures and a challenging media market,” according to the broadcaster.

The BBC had a headcount of 17,611 as of publication and the broadcaster has cut 2,000 roles over the past five years. That comes out to about 10% of its workforce. The broadcaster spent £50 million on severance payments in the past year, marking a three-year high.

Along with the report, the BBC said it would begin a voluntary redundancy scheme that will take around two years to finalize.

It’s not immediately clear where the cuts will come from. BBC runs a variety of units, including news, sports, radio, production and digital operations. 

The report notes that roles across the organization will be eliminated, with a select number of new jobs created in other divisions.

The BBC has been hit hard by its primary source of funding: The U.K.’s annual TV license fee. Lawmakers have been hesitant to raise it and its latest boost was below the rate of inflation.

All told revenue from the license fee was down 2%, coming in at £3.66 billion. That represents about 500,000 people, which has nosedived from over 2 million in 2018, according to the report, which also notes that at least some of these figures have been affected by citizens who refuse to pay the fee. 

Advertisement

With the recent changeover in government leadership, the BBC could be seeing an increased fee but that won’t kick in until 2027 at the earliest. 

Its BBC Studios arm, which is considered a commercial venture, was hit by increased costs and softening advertising revenue after posting a record profit the previous year.