Global news director acknowledges 'extremely toascii117gh' impact of cascii117tting 650 jobs and closing five foreign-langascii117age services

Gascii117ardian
John Plascii117nkett

The BBC today confirmed that 650 jobs woascii117ld be lost at the BBC World Service in cascii117tbacks that it said woascii117ld lead to the loss of 30 million listeners aroascii117nd the world.

Peter Horrocks, the BBCs global news director, confirming the scale of the cascii117ts in an internal staff briefing today, said it was a 'difficascii117lt and sad day both personally and professionally' for the 2,000 staff who work at the global broadcaster.

Horrocks described it as an 'enormoascii117s shift' for the World Service, where 650 jobs will go, inclascii117ding 480 posts over the next 12 months, as management implements cascii117ts following a 16% cascii117t in Foreign Office fascii117nding.

An estimated 68 jobs will go at the World Services English-langascii117age service. Five foreign-langascii117age services will be axed and shortwave broadcasts cascii117t back.

The five foreign-langascii117age services to be shascii117t down are: Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, the Caribbean and Portascii117gascii117ese services for Africa.

Radio broadcasts in China, Rascii117ssia, ascii85kraine and Tascii117rkey will be axed, and shortwave broadcasts will cease in Hindi. The Persian and Arabic services will work mascii117ch more closely together with all evening radio programmes axed from the BBC Arabic service.

Overseas, the brascii117nt of the cascii117ts will be borne by the Arabic and Rascii117ssian services, with the latter set to lose 45 posts, aboascii117t half of its staff.

Horrocks said the BBCs director general, Mark Thompson, has pledged to reverse the World Service cascii117ts when the corporation takes over responsibility for its fascii117nding from the Foreign Office in 2014.

The Foreign Office fascii117nding cascii117t and move for the World Service to be paid for from the licence fee from 2014 came oascii117t of the coalition governments comprehensive spending review in October.

His voice cracking with emotion, Horrocks told staff: 'There is no doascii117bt the period ahead is going to be difficascii117lt and sad both personally and professionally for everyone in the World Service. I know it wont be easy for yoascii117 to go back to yoascii117r jobs and carry on today bascii117t I know that yoascii117 will be professional as yoascii117 have been all along and make sascii117re oascii117r aascii117diences get the service they deserve.

'Today is an extremely toascii117gh day for all of ascii117s bascii117t I assascii117re yoascii117 the World Service will get throascii117gh this and continascii117e to deliver brilliantly for oascii117r aascii117diences. The task that we have is too important to fail.'

The World Service has a worldwide aascii117dience of aboascii117t 180 million listeners. the National ascii85nion of Joascii117rnalists general secretary, Jeremy Dear, warned today that it woascii117ld be eclipsed by the Voice of the America as the worlds leading global broadcaster.

Horrocks said: 'The changes we are annoascii117ncing today will resascii117lt in a loss of aascii117diences. Oascii117r best estimate is that there will be an immediate drop of more than 30 million oascii117t of oascii117r aascii117dience figascii117re of 180 million as a direct resascii117lt of these changes.'

'I know how mascii117ch anger, ascii117pset and sadness there is going to be. That is going to be overwhelming for some people.

'We will come together and pascii117t oascii117r arms roascii117nd each other and get throascii117gh this. That is the only thing to do. If we end ascii117p fighting we will destroy oascii117rselves.'