"I’m sorry to say that post closures are unavoidable.”
BBC Asian Network’s news is among numerous news and current affairs services set to be axed as part of a £24 million cost-cutting drive.
The closures are part of a wider BBC plan to cut 500 jobs across the corporation by March 2026 to create a total of £700 million in annual savings relative to 2022.
It would see 185 roles closed in BBC news and current affairs teams, and 55 new roles opened.
A further 25 closures are proposed in the media operations team which supports the production of the BBC’s news, radio and some sports services.
BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness said the corporation proposed savings equivalent to 4% of the current budget.
She said: “We have worked hard to find savings that don’t require us to close roles.
“In fact, more than 40% of these savings will come from non-staff measures including reductions to spend on contracts, suppliers, distribution and physical buildings.
“But with staff costs accounting for 75% of our overall budget, I’m sorry to say that post closures are unavoidable.”
BBC Asian Network’s news service includes The Ankur Desai Show, 60 Minutes and Asian Network News Presents.
These and 18 associated posts will be closed.
Instead, the station will begin airing Newsbeat bulletins which are also used on Radio 1 and 1Xtra.
Another show set to be axed is HARDtalk, which currently airs nightly Monday to Thursday on BBC News Channel and also has a podcast.
HARDtalk had been described as the “flagship” current affairs interview programme for BBC World News.
Turness said HARDtalk will be closed “as we focus on continuous live and breaking output on our News Channel, and do more to use and promote the high impact interviews and important conversations that are happening every day across our platforms”.
HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur said the closure was “depressing news for the BBC”.
He tweeted: “A brilliant team of producers and researchers is being disbanded just as BBC DG Tim Davie is trying to persuade the British Government that the journalism of the BBC World Service is such a vital expression of democratic soft power that the taxpayer must fund it.
“Whatever the outcome of that, it seems it will be too late to save HARDtalk – for so long a pillar of the World Service schedule.”
BBC Click‘s co-presenter Lara Lewington said:
“The BBC gave us an amazing opportunity to cover the tech that has and will transform our lives, in ways we could never have imagined.
“It is a shame to see our dear show come to an end at this moment of AI transformation and incredible acceleration in innovation and possibility, but such are the economic constraints.”
According to the BBC, Click is being “relaunched and renamed” to Tech Now rather than closed fully, “shifting from its traditional TV format to one where the films work best for digital”.
Under the proposals, domestic BBC radio stations will begin airing World Service summaries between midnight and 5:30 am rather than their own domestic summaries and the 5:30 am.
Turness said the goal of the change was to “manage demand, reduce duplication and prioritise live, digital and high impact journalism”.
Director-General Tim Davie previously instructed BBC News to reduce overall output by 20%.
The number of digital roles in time zones outside the UK will increase, “closing some roles in London and opening new positions in Sydney” as part of a “follow the sun” digital strategy that will allow it to operate better around the clock.
Turness told staff:
“We are doing everything we can to avoid compulsory redundancies.”
“Earlier in the summer we launched a Voluntary Redundancy (VR) scheme.
“Many of the roles proposed for closure in News align with expressions of interest in VR, and there are also expressions of interest in other roles where there might be opportunities for redeployment.
“Anyone potentially impacted by today’s announcements will be able to register for VR on the same terms.”
Indications of the cuts first came in July 2024 as part of the BBC’s annual report.
Outgoing NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said the new cuts “represent a damaging assault on journalism and news at a time when the UK needs greater plurality and diversity of news and trust in journalism is under attack at home and abroad”.
Laura Davison, the union’s broadcasting organiser and incoming secretary general, added:
“It is unclear how much journalism at the BBC can withstand without decisive action and investment that recognises the immense benefit of independent, credible news and current affairs programming.
“The inevitable loss of talent will serve as a double whammy to the organisation, where under-resourced teams must now strive to ensure the sustainability of journalism valued by the public.
“As we unpack details of proposals, we will bring together NUJ reps to consider the next steps alongside the scale and impact of these damaging plans.”
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