The British broadcaster BBC will reduce up to 2,000 of its personnel, marking the largest reduction at the corporation in the past 15 years. Sky News reports this information.
According to Sky News, personnel were informed about the impending layoffs on Wednesday. However, management did not specify precisely who the cuts would affect.
As the channel notes, the dismissals are linked to the broadcaster’s aim to lower expenses by 10% over the coming three years. This decision is prompted by the “considerable fiscal strain” confronting the BBC.
Last month, The Telegraph revealed that the BBC would make cuts within the BBC Studios Events team, which is responsible for covering major national occasions, such as the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III.
Out of six individuals on the team, only journalist Claire Popplewell, who managed coverage of the weddings of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018, remains. The BBC intends to engage with the other team members as external contractors.
Sources for the newspaper clarified that Buckingham Palace is concerned about the impact of the team size reduction on covering events involving the royal family.
Prior to this, The Media Copilot portal reported a wave of sackings across several global news outlets at the start of 2026 due to declining search traffic metrics caused by artificial intelligence overviews. According to the British industry publication Press Gazette, Washington Post, CBS News, The Observer, Axios, CNBC, The Sun, Vox Media, The Wall Street Journal, and Politico conducted reductions.
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