Scores of jobs set to be axed at BBC Scotland as part of 'severe' cuts
BBC Scotland digital channel could be culled as part of savings
Scores of jobs at BBC Scotland could be axed as part of what has been described as a “severe” cuts drive.
As many as 60 posts at the broadcaster could be lost as part of a UK-wide savings push by the corporation, according to reports.
It is understood that news staff at BBC Scotland were informed on Wednesday that cuts and redundancies are imminent.
The savings could herald the end of the BBC Scotland digital television channel, which has struggled to consistently attract viewers since its launch in 2019.
Two years ago, BBC Scotland scrapped the channel’s flagship news strand, The Nine, and several other news programmes.
Around 80 journalism jobs were created for the hour long daily news programme, alongside 60 or so tech-related roles.
The channel has an annual budget of £42m, but had a nationwide reach of just 13 per cent in 2024/25, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.
One staff member at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow said no specific announcement has been made yet regarding how the cuts will fall across programmes or services, but described morale as “grim”.
The proposed cuts form part of the BBC’s plans to save £500 million over the next two years. In June, it announced 550 jobs would go across news, nations, and television and radio content as part of the first stage of that process.
BBC Scotland said that it was working with unions to minimise the impact of the cuts.
A spokesman said: “BBC Scotland is making proportionate savings across all departments and management have been holding meetings with staff to explain how these can be achieved.
“Some colleagues have taken an offer of voluntary redundancy, and some are in roles which have been placed at risk of redundancy. We continue to consult and work with those colleagues and our unions to consider all options to avoid compulsory redundancy.”
Nick McGowan-Lowe, national organiser for Scotland at the National Union of Journalists, said it was looking for government intervention as part of the proposals, and warned that the cuts would undermine the BBC’s role in public life.
“The NUJ will be fighting to save these jobs in Scotland, making sure workloads are manageable for remaining staff, and campaigning for immediate UK government intervention,” he said.
“These are severe cuts at BBC Scotland, and they come at a time when there has never been a greater need for quality public service broadcasting. This constant cycle of cuts and cost-saving undermines the BBC's core mission to inform, educate and entertain, and it must end.”
The UK-wide cuts that were announced in June look set to have a direct impact on some of the BBC’s most prominent news programmes.
Proposals outlined in an email to staff by Jonathan Munro, the interim CEO of BBC News, include ending the long-running Radio 4 programme, The World Tonight, and merging the production teams who make Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and Newsnight.
Other plans include a reduction of 100 to 150 hours of originated programmes across all commissioning genres by the end of the 2027/28 financial year, and a drop of around 350 to 400 hours in audio output across all stations and genres.
BBC director-general Matt Brittin said the scale of the savings required “tough choices” and “careful work.”
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