BBC implements 'staff savings': 155 employees laid off

The BBC has laid off over 150 employees to save 24 million pounds, while also taking its famous Hard Talk program off the air.

The institution announced that, in line with its annual savings target of 700 million pounds (approximately 31 billion lira), 155 people, including 25 technical staff, have been laid off, some programs have been canceled, and some units have been closed.

It was stated that the layoffs, program cancellations, and closures would have an impact of 24 million pounds (approximately 1.1 billion lira) on the annual savings target, which corresponds to 4 percent of the news budget.

Among the programs taken off the air was the BBC's famous 27-year-old news program, Hard Talk.

The production of the night program on BBC Radio 5 has been transferred to local and national radio staff, and the Asia News Network unit has been closed.

While it was decided to increase the number of employees in different countries, it was stated that new positions would be opened in Sydney, while some positions in London would be reduced.

BBC News CEO Deborah Turness noted that despite the cost-cutting measures, the BBC would continue to have better resources compared to its competitors.