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Major cuts in jobs and local shows planned for BBC Radio

By Nagasunder in UK Employment news, posted November 2, 2022

Every presenter at every local BBC radio station in the UK is at risk of being laid off, as part of the corporation's new proposals.

In a staff meeting this week, all 39 stations' audio teams were given additional information about the plans announced on Tuesday, November 1.

All Band E Lead Presenters, Band D Senior Presenters, Band C and B Presenters, Band C Journalists and Content Producers, Band B Journalism Coordinators, and others are now in jeopardy of losing their jobs.

High-profile breakfast show hosts, long-serving networked night-time hosts, and weekend presenters are among those at risk.

They will all be required to apply for new positions such as Presenter/Producer, News Reader, Reporter, Programme Producer, Social Media Journalist, Sports Journalist, and others.

If they want to keep their job, they must go through a selection for retention scheme.

A voluntary redundancy scheme has also been implemented with immediate effect.

Executive Producers, Technical Operators, Schedulers, Receptionists, and Administrators are not at risk.

Redundancies do not affect any Channel Island employees.

All 39 local BBC Radio stations will use the same staffing model, with enough people to cover breakfast, daytime, and sports programming, as well as on-air news and digital content.

A BBC spokesperson told RadioToday: “Our proposals clearly set out the need for a number of new and different roles. Adapting our services requires a completely different way of working and fewer presenters. We are conducting this process fairly and in consultation with staff, doing our very best to avoid compulsory redundancies.”

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Rhodri Talfan Davies, BBC Director of Nations said: “These proposals aim to maintain the distinctiveness of our local services while allowing the BBC to adapt with our audiences and ensure we remain relevant. Taken together they will ensure our network of local services – across tv, radio, online and Sounds – offer more value for audiences.

“Of course, change is never easy – and we will work closely with all our colleagues to introduce these plans sensitively and fairly. BBC Local Radio remains an essential service for millions of listeners – the very best local radio network in the world – but it’s also essential we make difficult choices that will enable us to reach out to many people that increasingly rely on their mobiles for local content.”

Source: Radiotoday

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