BBC Scotland to axe dozens of jobs months after flagship show ditched

BBC SCOTLAND are set to cut up to 30 jobs amid plummeting viewing figures.

A memo to staff said that management aims to reduce staff numbers.

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The BBC found that viewership numbers were significantly down in 2023, and they aim to make up the financial difference by reducing their ranks.

The broadcaster told the Press Gazette it is looking to cut 25-30 roles as part of the overall Nations Division savings.

The BBC recently ditched news show, The Nine, amid low viewing figures.

The Nine initially created 80 new jobs at the BBC when it was first launched, pulling in 750,000 viewers for its launch in 2019.

However, more recent figures showed that figures had dropped to an all time low of 1,700 viewers causing for the programme to be cut.

And the cuts don’t just apply to Scotland either.

Of the 115 jobs to be cut, and 40-45 of those will be lost in England.

A further 25-30 are set to go in Wales, with another 10-12 to be axed in Northern Ireland.

The initial cuts are expected to be made by 2025.

The BBC said in July that they expect the total number of jobs lost to climb to 500, with multiple departments within the organisation to face huge losses.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has hit out at the cuts.

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary, said: “Coming on the back of a painful cull across BBC Local, these latest cuts across its regions and nations will further hollow out local news provision at a time when resources are stretched to breaking point.”

With the first cuts restricted to editorial staff, further divisions within the BBC are expected to see their numbers reduced.

The BBC told the Scottish Sun: “We cannot specify what area of the business the reduction will come from because it is a voluntary redundancy process.”

“We have been clear that the significant funding pressures we face means that every division in the BBC needs to make savings.

“In July we said that we expected to see an overall reduction of around 500 BBC public service roles by March 2026.”

“While challenging, we aim to make these savings — as far as is possible — through voluntary redundancy and we can confirm that we expect to deliver the changes without closing any major services.”