BBC confirms first round of cuts
June 17, 2026



As widely rumoured, the new BBC director-general Matt Brittin has announced that 550 of the planned 1,800 to 2,000 job cuts at the corporation will be taken from BBC News, Nations and content-related roles.

In an email to staff, Brittin said the three divisions would deliver £160 million (€185m) in savings by the end of the current financial year through a combination of staff and non-staff reductions.


The divisions are the first to reveal the first phase of cuts, the biggest at the BBC for more than a decade. Overall, as many as 2,000 jobs will be axed over the next three years, with a savings target of £500 million.

Brittin told staff in the email: “Reductions of this scale inevitably mean some compulsory redundancies, though we will work hard to avoid this wherever we can. Many divisions have already opened voluntary redundancy windows; more will be opening today [and] we will also have to close some programmes.”

Brittin added that in order to make the BBC “simpler and faster” the corporation “must reduce duplication, clarify accountability and increase the speed of decision making. This includes reducing senior leaders by at least 10 per cent.”

In a subsequent statement, the BBC said that further savings across all divisions will be set out in the coming months. This includes corporate divisions, where around 700 roles are expected to close.

Proposals announced:

BBC Content

• A target to deliver a minimum of £100 million of recurring annual savings by the end of 2027/28;

• A reduction of around 100 roles by the end of this financial year

• A review of broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online

• A reduction of 100-150 hours of originated programmes across all commissioning genres by the end of 2027/28

• In audio, by the end of 2027/28 the BBC expects a reduction of around 350-400 hours across stations and genres, while protecting many of its prime daily programmes

Nations

A total of £33 million of savings by the end of 2027/28, with the expected closure of around 250 posts in this first phase expected to be broken down as follows:

• Savings of £9 million in Wales and a reduction in headcount of around 50 roles

• In Northern Ireland, £4 million of savings and up to 50 roles

• In Scotland, over £10 million of savings and up to 60 roles

• In BBC Local, £9 million savings and around 90 roles

News

Proposals outlined today will save around £25 million, with a net reduction of around 200 roles for this first phase.

BBC News will be reducing costs by at least £51 million by next April with further announcements expected over the next few months detailing further post closures amounting to a level similar to that announced today.

Staff have been told voluntary redundancy will be available, but compulsory redundancies are also possible.

• Programme closures will be guided by three main principles:

• To sustain output with the highest audience value and impact

• Meet audiences where they are, reducing spend elsewhere

• Make the BBC simpler and faster – reduce duplication, clarify accountability, and increase the speed of decision making. This includes reducing senior leaders by at least 10 per cent

Further announcements will be made in due course.

Responding to the news, Philippa Childs, the head of the broadcasting trade union Bectu, said: “These cuts, while expected, will still be devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole. Ten per cent cuts when real-terms income from the licence fee is already down £1.3 billion in the last decade is significant and will affect the BBC’s ability to deliver its public service mission. It seems clear that cuts will have a direct impact on programming and output, and audiences will also notice the effects. To be embarking on this latest round of cuts at the same time as charter renewal is far from ideal. I’m not sure how you can make informed decisions about the long-term future of the organisation when it will be in a substantially diminished place at the end of the process than the beginning.”