BBC to axe 2,900 jobs in cost-cutting overhaul

BRITAIN: The BBC's director general, Mr Mark Thompson, yesterday began his campaign to secure the corporation's financial future…

BRITAIN: The BBC's director general, Mr Mark Thompson, yesterday began his campaign to secure the corporation's financial future, making thousands of staff redundant and relocating key departments to Manchester, writes Owen Gibson in London

In a marked departure from the expansive regime of his predecessor, Mr Greg Dyke, he outlined plans to slim down the corporation and release more money to spend on programmes.

"I believe the price of this very considerable change is the right price to pay to achieve the prize of a strong and independent, creative BBC," he said, adding that the BBC would have to adapt to survive in a world with dozens of channels and on-demand viewing.

"Media is being re-invented and audiences are racing ahead with it. If we don't keep up with those audiences, we're dead."

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Mr Thompson promised fewer repeats on BBC1, more money for high-quality drama, comedy, news and current affairs and children's programmes, and an increased focus on "distinctive" shows.

Some 2,500 middle managers and support staff will be made redundant and a further 400 will be let go in the factual and learning division, the hardest hit by plans to outsource more programmes to independent producers. BBC Sport, children's programming, new media and Radio 5 Live will move to Manchester but the £500 million shift will not take place for five years and, warned Mr Thompson, was contingent on a satisfactory licence fee settlement.

While London staff were downcast at the announcement, there was jubilation in the north.

London's Evening Standard headline read "Black Tuesday for jobs", while the Manchester Evening News hailed a "BBC jobs bonanza".

The switch will generate around £750 million for the regional economy, Manchester City Council said, with the city housing the largest broadcasting centre outside the capital.

Earlier, Mr Thompson said he was sorry for the "sense of pain and uncertainty" among staff.

But the plans were immediately criticised by unions who accused him of a high-handed disregard for staff.

"The BBC risks destroying its ability to continue as the UK's leading public service broadcaster, and poses a substantial risk to the BBC's continuing right to the licence fee," the National Union of Journalists, Bectu and Amicus said in a joint statement.

Under the plans, every BBC department will have its budget cut by an average of 15 per cent, but managers were told that if they could hit targets, there would be more money in the future to reinvest in programmes.

More job losses are expected when individual departments deliver their plans in March.

Mr Thompson said the carrot-and-stick approach was aimed at slimming down the BBC's layers of bureaucracy and creating "a simpler organisation, a more creative organisation".

He promised that the £320 million in annual savings that he plans to achieve within three years, including £155 million already identified, would be ploughed back into the schedules.

The BBC's overall headcount expanded under the tenure of Mr Dyke, who was ousted this year in the wake of the Hutton inquiry.

Mr Thompson said one of his first priorities was to eliminate waste and "look hard at whether the licence fee can go further".

In a wide-ranging series of reviews, he also ruled out the outright sale of the commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, but said he would look at disposing of the BBC Resources and BBC Broadcast divisions.

Outside Television Centre, the plans were largely welcomed.

Conservative media spokesman Mr John Whittingdale said the announcement was "both welcome and long overdue", while former war correspondent Kate Adie told ITV News that they went some way to correcting 10 years of "terrible mismanagement". - (Guardian Service)