BBC to cut 110 tech staff in compulsory layoffs
About 110 staff in BBC Media Tech will face compulsory redundancy, meaning they will be selected for layoff rather than volunteering to leave.
The cuts sit inside a fresh £37 million ($50 million) round of savings announced on 28 September, according to Deadline. Media Tech is the division that powers the BBC's online services, including iPlayer, the corporation's streaming service for watching programmes on demand. A further 35 open vacancies in the division will be closed.
The new savings follow £42 million of cuts already delivered by Media Tech earlier in 2026. Together, the two rounds form part of a larger squeeze on the technology teams behind the BBC's apps and websites.
More job losses are expected beyond the compulsory exits. The BBC expects another 180 Media Tech layoffs through voluntary redundancy, meaning staff apply to leave with a payoff. That figure includes 150 voluntary redundancies reported the previous week. Those earlier voluntary exits were reported to save £14.5 million ($19.8 million) over the coming years, according to Deadline.
Kelly Kowal, the BBC's chief operations and portfolio officer, told staff that Media Tech will need to find a further £23 million of savings in early 2027. In total, the division will contribute £102 million toward the BBC's overall £500 million savings target.
Kowal said the division plans to cut costs by embracing AI and by focusing on fewer products. More resource will be put into iPlayer, with less spread across other services.
The technology cuts follow an earlier round of 550 job cuts in news, nations and TV and radio content, announced in June as the first stage of the plan to save £500 million, according to the BBC.
For staff, the message is that the restructuring will continue into next year. For viewers and listeners, the BBC's stated plan is to put its remaining technology effort behind its main streaming service.
