BBC to lay off hundreds of news service employees

British broadcaster BBC plans to cut hundreds of jobs in its news division in order to reduce costs.

This was reported by the newspaper Financial Times (FT).

According to the publication, various divisions within the broadcasting corporation have been ordered to cut spending by 10%, which could ultimately lead to the dismissal of about 2,000 people and savings of millions of pounds sterling.

As the newspaper reports, the news division, which employs a quarter of the BBC's more than 20,000 staff, intends to announce its layoff plans as early as next week. One source told the publication that the cuts could, in particular, affect staff at individual radio stations of the corporation.

The BBC receives its funding primarily from a license fee levied on all households in the United Kingdom. The cost of such a license for users of a color television is 180 pounds ($240) per year, and for black-and-white — 60.5 pounds ($80). It must be paid even by households that do not have a television, provided that people watch live broadcasts — and not necessarily on the BBC, but, for example, on the video hosting site YouTube — on their computers, tablets or phones. Even blind people are required to pay the license, albeit with a 50% discount. The fee is not charged to people over 74 years of age. Thanks to television fees, the corporation receives about 3.8 billion pounds ($5 billion) annually, which is approximately 65% of its total budget.

As the newspaper The Guardian notes, the BBC loses more than 550 million pounds ($735 million) annually due to a number of households evading payment of the fee. In addition, in recent years an increasing number of young viewers have switched to streaming services to watch movies or series. Another reason cited for the decline in interest in BBC products is the loss of audience trust.

Source: TASS