Series producers to face brunt of 40 BBC job cuts

BBC controller of factual and daytime Natalie Humphreys said the number of senior editorial roles in the corporation’s biggest production department will be reduced by 44% from 90 to 50 because of a reduction in work.

The number of series producer roles will be cut by 62% from 21 to 13, while executive producers will fall from 11 to five, a 54% cut. Producer roles will fall 37% from 58 to 37.

A BBC spokeswoman said series producers had been hit hardest because there had been a number of promotions into the role in recent years. A lack of movement at executive producer level is also thought to have been a factor, meaning fewer opportunities for series producers to move up.

In her announcement to staff, Humphreys said over the past few years the amount of work in London had fallen by nearly a quarter.

She attributed the decline to “delivering Quality First (DQF) scope cuts and changes to slates”.

Humphreys added: “Programmes like The Met: Policing London, Watchdog, Horizon, Artsnight, Rome’s Invisible City, The One Show – and many more – do us proud and I want to emphasise that these proposals in no way reflect the quality of output.”

Other factors in the reduced hours for London factual are thought to include the commitment to produce more hours from the nations and regions and pressure from the £100m savings that director general Tony Hall called for in February to reallocate cash to digital initiatives.

The prospect of compulsory redundancies is still some way off, with a “preference exercise” meaning that staff can put themselves forward for voluntary redundancy until 8 September.

Initial indications are that the appetite for voluntary redundancy has been relatively high, with some experienced series producers eyeing potential opportunities in the indie sector. Redeployment will be an option for others.

Broadcast union Bectu will meet with members on 6 August to assess the rationale for the job cuts and see if there is any scope for opposition.