BBC says restructuring likely to spare legal team
The BBC's 100-strong legal team looks set to escape cuts in the broadcasting giant's controversial restructuring, it was stated today (19 October). The corporation had issued a statement on Thursday (18 October) that it expected to shed 75 jobs from its professional services arm, which includes the legal, marketing and finance teams, from a total of 1,800 new redundancies.
October 19, 2007 at 08:48 AM
2 minute read
The BBC's 100-strong legal team looks set to escape cuts in the broadcasting giant's controversial restructuring, it was stated today (19 October).
The corporation had issued a statement on Thursday (18 October) that it expected to shed 75 jobs from its professional services arm, which includes the legal, marketing and finance teams, from a total of 1,800 new redundancies.
Asked on Thursday if the move would directly affect legal staff, a BBC spokesperson said "the details are still being worked through". BBC general counsel Nicholas Eldred declined to comment.
However, a BBC spokesman today said that it was unlikely that the corporation's legal staff would be affected by the restructuring. He added: "The legal team is not anticipating any changes."
The number of planned staff redundancies at the BBC over the next five years now stands at 2,500. The cuts are part of a controversial restructuring launched by the broadcaster after it failed to secure its target funding in the last licence fee negotiations with the Government.
The BBC employs over 100 lawyers working across its four core divisions – corporate legal and IP; programme legal advice; regulatory legal; and litigation and brand enforcement – as well as commercial subsidiaries including BBC Worldwide.
The restructuring comes with the BBC's legal department having undergone a number of changes in recent months. In-house counsel Jaron Lewis quit in September to join City practice Reynolds Porter Chamberlain as a partner, while Farrers media partner Nick Alway recently moved to the BBC's programming department.
Two years ago Eldred halved the corporation's roster of advisers in the wake of BBC director general Mark Thompson's 'Value for money' review. The shake-up saw longstanding adviser Richards Butler dropped from the BBC's panel and Linklaters, Olswang and Field Fisher Waterhouse retained.
The bulk of the newly-announced redundancies will hit the broadcaster's factual and entertainment television arm, with up to 660 redundancies predicted by 2012 in the team. The BBC will also sell off its iconic headquarters in West London as it moves to address a projected £2bn budget shortfall.
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