BBC confirms 1,730 jobs to go

Mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC, has confirmed that 1,730 jobs will go in a first round of cuts in the corporation's Professional Services unit.

Thompson said that the job cuts and efficiency improvements should result in savings of £139m per year by 2008.

Of the 1,730 cuts announced, 980 positions will be eliminated while the other 750 will be outsourced.

"In December I talked about the creative prize for the BBC and our audiences – but the cost is nothing short of transformation," said Thompson today. "We have made a strong start, showing we are serious about change and ensuring we are maximising the value of our income for audiences' benefit. We need to make the BBC a simpler, more agile operation, ready to take the creative lead in a very different, very challenging digital future."