BBC Cuts Latest: Around 150 Tech Staff Expected To Take Voluntary Redundancy, Saving Millions

EXCLUSIVE: The drumbeat of BBC cuts continues, with Deadline hearing that roughly 4% of the British broadcaster’s technology unit is expected to take voluntary redundancy.

Around 151 employees are set to exit BBC Media Tech, the unit that helps power online services including iPlayer and BBC Sounds. The voluntary redundancies are expected to deliver savings of £14.5 million ($19.8M) over the coming years.

Deadline understands that 11% of staff in BBC Media Tech applied for voluntary redundancy, but only 40% (the 151 figure) can be accepted. The department is set to announce other changes over the coming days, as the BBC reveals further details about its plan to cut 2,000 jobs and save £500M amid a funding crisis.

Deadline revealed on Wednesday that the BBC is expected to announce TV and radio network closures early next week, with speculation that BBC Three could be shut. Also on Wednesday, the BBC Sport unit told employees about plans to make redundancies and cut sports bulletins on its news channel.

The BBC will also consider “bumping” roles in BBC Media Tech, meaning an employee can take voluntary redundancy, but another staff member facing compulsory redundancy can backfill the role.

BBC technology teams have faced uncertainty over the past year amid the corporation drawing up radical plans to outsource thousands of non-content jobs to the private sector. The proposals, codenamed Project Ada, explored spinning off Media Tech into a potential commercial unit. Discussion about Project Ada has gone quiet since the arrival of Matt Brittin, the BBC’s new director general, and the exit of chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva.

The BBC’s £500M savings target expands on a previous goal worth £1.5 billion. The bigger picture behind the cuts is that 94% of the UK population use the BBC every month, but fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee. The BBC is attempting to bridge this gap.