BBC Axing 415 Jobs in Spending Slash

The BBC has announced it will be making a fresh batch of job cuts as it takes strides to slash millions of pounds from its spending.

The BBC's director of news, James Harding, said that the news department will be affected most by the latest measures taken by the broadcaster, with 415 employees set to lose their jobs.

The job cull is part of the Beeb's plan to save £800m (€1bn, $1.4bn) following a licence fee freeze in 2010 and with staff costs accounting for around 70% of running costs, job cuts were bound to be inevitable.

These cuts are expected to save it around £48m by 2017, according to the BBC.

"It will be a testing time of uncertainty and change," Harding told staff. "[The] challenge is how to make BBC News even better, despite having less money".

However, one journalist's loss is another one's gain, as part of its restructuring plan, 195 new jobs will be created.

The BBC currently employs roughly 8000 staff, with around 5000 journalists based all over the world.

Michelle Stanistreet, National Union of Journalists' secretary-general, told the BBC: "These cuts will further undermine the ability of journalists to deliver quality content.

"Now they plan to get rid of hundreds of staff - using licence fee payers' money to cover the redundancy pay-outs - and then immediately hire in a load more. You couldn't make it up."

The BBC cut 140 jobs in its 2012/13 financial year, with 75 more the following year.

Its staff are already up in arms over a pay dispute which could see them call a 12 hour strike next week and this news will only anger them further.

If the strike does go ahead, coverage of the Commonwealth Games, which begins on July 23, could be affected.