BBC to axe 450 newsroom jobs

LONDON: The BBC will axe 450 newsroom jobs as part of plans to adapt “to changing audience needs” and meet its savings target, the broadcaster announced on Wednesday.

“The BBC has to face up to the changing way audiences are using us,” Fran Unsworth, director of news and current affairs, said in a statement. “We have to adapt and ensure we continue to be the world’s most trusted news organisation, but crucially, one which is also relevant for the people we are not currently reaching,” she added.

The British Broadcasting Corporation, which has an £80 million ($104 million, 95 million euro) savings target, said it was spending too much on “traditional linear broadcasting and not enough on digital”.

The “Victoria Derbyshire” morning show will be axed, with other job losses coming from a reduction in the number of films produced by flagship news programme “Newsnight”. Other jobs will be lost at radio station 5 Live, and there will be a review of the number of presenters working for the broadcaster.