Close to 100 jobs are to go as part of a £4 million savings plan at BBC Monitoring.
Almost one in three posts at the BBC facility in Caversham will be lost, while numbers overseas will be reduced by approximately 20%.
“This is a classic case of knowing the cost but not the value. Users have always praised our reporting on other countries through their media. But all too often, our paymasters have seen Monitoring as an easy target for savings,” said Stuart Seaman, NUJ Father of Chapel at BBC Monitoring.
Staff will move from Caversham, near Reading, its home since 1943 into central London by London. IT and non-editorial staff numbers are also expected to be reduced.
“For more than 75 years, BBC Monitoring has provided an invaluable service to BBC News, as well as Government and commercial clients. Spotting developing stories and trends in hundreds of languages and countries across the world helps the BBC to offer a truly global news service. Like all media organisations, BBC Monitoring has to keep pace with the new landscape of digital and social media. And, like the rest of the BBC, BBC Monitoring needs to make savings,” said Fran Unsworth, director, BBC World Service Group.
BBC Monitoring translates and analyses news and information from media sources around the world.
