BBC World Service to cut 130 roles to save £6m in the next year

BBC says additional Government funding not enough to avoid World Service cuts.

BBC World Service will cut a net 130 jobs, including in the UK, as it battles to save £6m in the year ahead.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced an extra £32.6m for the BBC World Service for 2025/26 in November.

But the BBC said that despite this “welcome uplift”, previous licence-fee freezes, global inflation “and the need for ongoing digital and technological upkeep have meant savings are necessary”.

It added that it is competing against international news organisations with much bigger budgets meaning “increased competition for staff, platforms and frequencies, and audiences”.

The £6m savings needed for the next financial year will largely be met by the net reduction of 130 roles.

The BBC said these will include closing posts across the BBC World Service in the UK and internationally and in BBC Monitoring, which reports and analyses news from around the world and will also see a reinvestment "in strategically important skills".

There will also be "changes to the commissioning mix" on World Service English and a reshaping of some World Service Language teams to become more digitally-focused.

According to the National Union of Journalists, the BBC aims to meet its targets for the cuts through voluntary redundancies wherever possible.

BBC World Service English controller John Zilkha wrote in an email to staff that as part of the changes the BBC would decommission eight podcasts and radio programmes: Africa Daily, The Forum, The Cultural Frontline, The Explanation, Business Matters, the 1530 World Business Report, Pick of The World and Over to You. Another show, Science in Action, will be closed and replaced with Inside Science. Zilkha said a new monthly audience feedback programme will be commissioned.

Jonathan Munro, global director and deputy chief executive of BBC News, said: “While the result of the latest grant-in-aid funding settlement means we are able to maintain all of our existing language services, we were clear it would not stave off difficult decisions in order to remain globally competitive and meet our savings requirements.

"These changes will ensure we operate effectively with the resource we have, creating the most impact for audiences internationally.”

The BBC said its commitment to high-quality journalism across its 42 language services is "undiminished".

NUJ general secretary Laura Davison said the plans are "yet another blow to journalists at the BBC. Proposals will see the loss of talented and experienced journalists committed to the unrivalled journalism produced by the World Service and relied upon by countries globally.

"The freezing of the licence fee has had a profound impact still felt acutely today; we need a commitment from government to provide long-term sustainable funding that allows the provision by teams including over 40 language services to thrive.

“It is wrong journalists are once more bearing the brunt of changes at a time when the BBC's journalism and soft power is needed more than ever. As we support members impacted by cuts, we urge the BBC to engage meaningfully with us to do all it can to protect jobs."

The BBC joins several UK and US broadcasters announcing job cuts in January including CNN, NBC News and London Live. Other news organisations cutting roles include the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Dotdash Meredith, Huffpost and DC Thomson.

The last round of cuts affecting journalists at the BBC was announced in October, with 185 jobs expected to go across the news and current affairs department including through the end of the interview programme Hardtalk, tech show Click and the Asian Network's bespoke news service.