BBC to cut 151 tech jobs behind iPlayer and Sounds
About 151 people are expected to leave the BBC team that helps keep iPlayer and BBC Sounds online.
The exits will come through voluntary redundancy, meaning staff choose to leave with a payoff instead of facing forced layoffs. They equal roughly 4% of the technology unit, known as BBC Media Tech, according to Deadline.
Demand for the scheme outran the places available. Eleven percent of staff in the unit applied, but only 40% of applications could be accepted. The BBC expects the departures to save £14.5 million ($19.8 million) over the coming years.
The BBC will also consider “bumping” in the unit. That lets a volunteer leave while their post is filled by another staff member who was at risk of compulsory redundancy, meaning a forced exit. It is a way to limit forced losses.
The tech cuts form part of a much larger squeeze. The BBC plans to cut 2,000 jobs and save £500 million amid a funding crisis. That £500 million target follows an earlier £1.5 billion savings goal.
The plan is now under new director general Matt Brittin. The figures behind the funding debate are sharp. About 94% of the UK population uses the BBC each month, yet fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee.
Earlier internal proposals codenamed Project Ada had explored spinning Media Tech off into a potential commercial unit. No spin-off has been announced.
The wider job plan was first laid out in April. The BBC said then it would cut between 1,800 and 2,000 jobs, or almost one in 10 staff, to tackle “significant financial pressures,” according to BBC News. News chief Talfan Davies told staff the BBC would open a voluntary scheme to avoid compulsory layoffs, Deadline reported.
Parts of the BBC have already felt cuts. The interview programme HARDtalk was closed and 130 posts went in the news division in 2024, Deadline reported. Later news cuts, including cancellations of shows such as The World Tonight, affected roughly one in 10 staff.
For viewers, the services at the centre of this cut are familiar ones. iPlayer is the BBC’s streaming and catch-up service. Sounds is its audio app for radio, music and podcasts. The BBC has not announced changes to either service.
