The BBC will axe Radio 4’s The World Tonight after more than half a century as part of a first round of sweeping job cuts which hope to save the corporation £500 million over two years.
Director-general Matt Brittin announced on Wednesday that 550 of the planned 1,800 to 2,000 job cuts at the corporation will be taken from BBC News and TV and radio-related roles.
The BBC reports that an email sent to staff by the interim chief executive officer of BBC News Jonathan Munro has outlined the jobs and programmes impacted, with The World Tonight among the first victims of the planned cuts.
The 45-minute weekday news programme will be axed after almost 70 years on air while the presenters on BBC Radio 4’s Today show will be reduced from five to four.
BBC One’s Breakfast will also be impacted by the cuts and will no longer be shown on Sunday mornings from September while the production teams making Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and Newsnight will merge.
Mr Munro said the proposals include 200 job losses in the news division resulting in savings of £25 million, according to the BBC.
Other plans in the announcement include TV production at weekends being shared across the News Channel and BBC One bulletins, as well as a proposed review of broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online.
The corporation will also review its chief news presenter roles, while 100 to 150 hours of originated programmes across all commissioning genres will be reduced by the end of the 2027 to 2028 financial year.
The BBC also reported that it plans to reduce between 350 and 400 hours in audio across stations and genres whilst the News Channel will shift toward an international focus in hopes of broadening its audience outside the UK.
Job cuts will also impact around 700 corporate roles, with those announced in April set to take place over the next three years.
Mr Brittin previously said in an email to staff it is hoped cuts and savings in BBC News and further TV and radio areas will make £160 million in cost savings.
He said: “The scale of savings requires tough choices, careful work and won’t all be ready at once.
“We live in very uncertain times. Our audiences rely on us every day to keep them informed, entertained and equipped to make sense of the world.
“Making savings while fulfilling our mission means a doubly difficult time for everyone.”
The former Google executive, 57, went on to say that the BBC would be reducing senior leaders by “at least” 10% to make it “simpler and faster”.
Mr Brittin added that further details on cuts and savings would be announced “in the months ahead”.
In response to the announcement on Wednesday, Philippa Childs, head of media and entertainment union, Bectu, said it is “far from ideal” that the cuts are taking place at the same time as the BBC’s charter renewal.
Ms Childs added that while cuts were “expected”, they would “still be devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole”.
Cathy Sweet, head of TV and film at entertainment and performing arts trade union Equity, said: “These are devastating cuts that will be felt across the creative industries and risk BBC audiences and our nation being poorer, with the BBC unable to live up to its aim to inform, educate and entertain.”
Mr Brittin will host an all-staff call next Tuesday at 2pm to take questions.
The director-general took up the role in May, replacing Tim Davie who announced his resignation in November 2025 after editorial coverage led to a 10 billion dollar (£7.5 billion) lawsuit from US President Donald Trump over the editing of a Panorama documentary.
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