A total of 650 jobs cuts are planned at the service as part of an effort to cut costs by 16 per cent – around £67 million – over the next four years.
Horrocks told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee yesterday that the Arabic-speaking journalists had done a "fantastic job" in reporting the uprisings in the Arab world. "We maybe able to alter some of these job losses," he said.
According to the World Service director, any reduction in job losses at the broadcaster's Arabic service would be based in part on securing outside funding from organisations including the Department for International Development.
Around 15 per cent of the initial 480 jobs, which are due to go by the end of this year, are managerial (grade 9 and above); the other 85 are from across the rest of the team.
Asked about the implications for the World Service's 180 million listeners worldwide, Horrocks admitted that the cuts would have an impact and reiterated that 30 million listeners would be lost.
"These 30 million people are 30 million regrets, but we have to make the books add up."
The National Union of Journalists and broadcasting union BECTU called on the foreign secretary, William Hague to ensure that World Service journalists from overseas made redundant by the cuts will not be repatriated to dangerous countries.
Around half of the 277 foreign journalists living in the UK set to lose their jobs are on work visas which could mean they have to leave the country when the jobs are cut. Horrocks confirmed that the management had asked Hague for assurances.
The World Service director added that the BBC is due to make an announcement soon on "circumvention technology", which would allow the broadcaster's websites to get around internet firewalls such as China's.
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