BBC designers await job verdict

Design staff at BBC Resources will find out in coming weeks whether or not they will lose their jobs as part of a major restructuring exercise.

The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the broadcasting giant, is to be slimmed down following a review. Many staff, not including designers, are expected to be transferred to a new company, BBC Technology.

The new company will handle a variety of functions, such as broadcast and telephone, IT and on-line services, for internal or external clients. The design function will, says a spokesman, remain within the slimmed down Resources Limited. Discussions with relevant unions regarding the reduction in “headcount” are expected this week.

“A smaller, more focused BBC Resources is better placed to realise its full potential while keeping craft skills at the heart of the BBC,” says director-general Greg Dyke.

The move is intended to harness expertise in a way which will increase BBC revenue. The Government has encouraged the BBC to increase revenues by £1.1bn by 2006. Changes to BBC Resources and the launch of BBC Technology are expected to deliver between £150m and £200m over six years, says a BBC spokesman.