BBC to sack 382 workers, strengthens digital platforms

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced plans to sack 382 of its workers as it broadens its global digital operations.

The UK’s media giant in July revealed strategies to combine BBC World News television and its domestic UK equivalent into a single channel to begin operation in April 2023.
It said the decision is as part of a cost-cutting programme and move to digital platforms, in trimming down its Iranian-language service among others.
The BBC, which is set to celebrate its centenary in October, said its international services needed to make savings of £28.5 million ($31 million) as part of broader reductions of £500 million, which unions blamed on the UK government.
BBC World Service, which is one of the UK’s most recognisable global brands – currently operates in 41 languages around the world with a weekly audience of some 364 million people.
But the corporation said audience habits were changing and more people were accessing news online, which along with a freeze on BBC funding and increased operating costs meant a move to “digital-first” made financial sense.
“Today’s proposals entail a net total of around 382 post closures,” BBC said in an online statement.
Eleven language services – Azerbaijani, Brasil, Marathi, Mundo, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese are already digital only.