Helen Boaden: BBC network news to cut 140 roles by April 2013

News teams within BBC Network news will see 140 posts cut by April next year, BBC News director Helen Boaden revealed today, as part of division-wide job cuts already announced following proposals outlined in the broadcaster's Delivering Quality First strategy.

In October last year Boaden warned staff in the news division that they will "bear the brunt" of cuts announced by the broadcaster, adding that up to 800 full time posts could be closed over the next five years. It is now understood this figure has been reduced to around 500 jobs, due to reinvestment, with BBC News needing to find savings of almost £70 million.

Today Boaden provided staff with further details about where cuts will be made, with internal magazine Ariel reporting that three Newsnight reporters and three Radio 4 news journalists, as well as 17 news service roles in Radio 1 and 1Xtra, will be some of the roles lost.

Ariel also reports that "Radio 4's Taking a Stand will not be recommissioned while Beyond Westminster will be decommissioned as Radio Current Affairs addresses a £500k budget cut".

"In the Newsroom, 28 posts will close including nine studio staff. And in Newsgathering, in addition to the closures previously announced, three more correspondent/reporter/specialist posts will face the axe.

"Six jobs at Millbank, including four posts in Live Political Programmes, will also go."

In an email to staff Boaden said she does not "pretend that these changes will be easy or painless for individuals or teams" but that the broadcaster "will work extremely hard to avoid any compulsory redundancies".

However, "as the BBC gets smaller, we cannot guarantee complete success in this area", she added.

"As public service broadcasters we know we have to make these changes in a way which preserves our reputation, our values and our unique relationship of trust with audiences."

The cuts to BBC News follow proposals by the BBC of 2,000 job cuts across the broadcaster as part of an attempt to make savings of around £670 million a year by 2016/17.

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