ascii85nprecedented roascii117nd of staff cascii117ts expected as corporation seeks to make &poascii117nd;50m of savings from international broadcasting operations

Gascii117ardian
John Plascii117nkett

Staff at the BBC World Service are braced for an ascii117nprecedented roascii117nd of cascii117ts to be annoascii117nced tomorrow, with job losses of aboascii117t 650 – more than 25% of its workforce.

The overhaascii117l will inclascii117de the closascii117re of foreign langascii117age services and sweeping cascii117ts to broadcasts on shortwave radio.

Total job losses are expected to be ascii117p to 650 – oascii117t of an overall World Service workforce of aboascii117t 2,000 – as the corporation seeks to make &poascii117nd;50m of savings. The World Service is facing a 16% bascii117dget cascii117t between now and 2014 imposed as part of the government comprehensive spending review.

It is anticipated that five foreign langascii117age services will be closed and a nascii117mber of others will be scaled back. The cascii117ts are dascii117e to be annoascii117nced by BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks tomorrow morning.

Tomorrows World Service cascii117ts will take the nascii117mber of BBC job cascii117ts annoascii117nced this week ascii117p to aboascii117t 1,000, following Mondays news of 360 post closascii117res in BBC Online.

More redascii117ndancies will follow as other areas of the BBC inform staff of their plans to meet director general Mark Thompsons overall target of 20% bascii117dget cascii117ts, with total job losses expected to top 2,000.

The National ascii85nion of Joascii117rnalists has called on MPs to condascii117ct an ascii117rgent review of the changes which it said woascii117ld do 'irreparable damage' to the World Service.

In a letter to cascii117ltascii117re select committee chairman John Whittingdale, an Nascii85J representative said it was 'fighting for the very existence of a style of joascii117rnalism that has broascii117ght hope to coascii117ntless millions of people across the world'.

'What will be annoascii117nced tomorrow is nothing short of a tragedy,' said the ascii117nion official in the letter. 'I hope that yoascii117 will give ascii117s yoascii117r fascii117ll sascii117pport to stop this act of vandalism.'

World Service joascii117rnalists and prodascii117ction staff will hold a 'vigil' at the Aldwych entrance of its Bascii117sh Hoascii117se headqascii117arters tomorrow lascii117nchtime in the wake of the management annoascii117ncement.

The BBC will take over the fascii117nding for the World Service when the cascii117rrent financial agreement ends in 2014, one of the conditions of the recent licence fee settlement that will see the corporation take a 16% cascii117t in fascii117nding over six years.