The NUJ has called for an urgent reconsideration of the BBC’s funding after yet more damaging cuts across the corporation were unveiled today.

The BBC has confirmed that it intends to cut around 115 editorial and production roles in the Nations and Regions, as part of overall plans to save £500m by March 2026.

Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:

“Coming on the back of a painful cull across BBC Local, these latest cuts across its regions and nations will further hollow out local news provision at a time when resources are stretched to breaking point. Our public service broadcaster is a global asset that acts as a pivotal driver for our entire creative industry. After years of being used as a political punchbag and subjected to wrongheaded interference and cuts, there needs to be urgent intervention that prioritises the funding of its grassroots news and programming and sets the BBC on a more sustainable footing.”

Earlier this year director general Tim Davie said the BBC was well on its way to delivering £500 million of annual savings by March 2026 but was working on plans for a further £200 million of savings.

While the NUJ shares the BBC’s hope that job cuts can be achieved through voluntary means -- a four-week voluntary window is opening – the union is concerned that it amounts to further salami slicing across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England has already experienced devastating cuts, with 450 jobs lost in 2020 and damaging closures of BBC Local Radio programmes.

The BBC has said there will be editorial and production job cuts in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England but has not provided a breakdown of specific roles at this stage.

The BBC remains one of the UKs most trusted news brands, but the increased erosion of investment in journalism is alarming at a time when misinformation and disinformation spread on social media networks proliferates.

 Laura Davison, senior organiser said:

“These cuts have come about because of the repeated failure of previous governments to properly fund the UK’s public service broadcaster. Licence fee freezes, making the corporation fund free licenses for the over-75s, and subsequent small increases have left the BBC in a perilous state.

“The BBC boasts that it has moved some of its programmes and news departments outside London, in a project ambitiously called “Across The UK”. But what we see today is a potential significant further reduction in roles that truly serve our Nations and Regions. We are further concerned that colleagues who are left behind will have to pick up the workload done by those who are leaving. Again, we have already seen the consequences of this in England, with many local radio stations now having afternoon news bulletins pre-recorded by neighbouring stations or sharing output across large regions with no shared identity. Further savings will inevitably have an impact on output in the devolved Nations.

“As ever, we will work to avoid compulsory redundancies, maximise redeployment opportunities and ensure there is a proper assessment of workloads and stress. We welcome the BBC’s recognition that recent job cuts have been really grim for all staff involved. We call on the Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy, to give a firm commitment to urgently and properly funding the BBC. In particular, we ask that she places valued local and regional output at the heart of the current charter renewal negotiations and ensures that Ofcom hold the BBC to its commitments in the Nations and Regions beyond 2027.”

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