BBC World Service cuts will cost it 30m listeners worldwide

Global news director acknowledges 'extremely tough' impact of cutting 650 jobs and closing five foreign-language services

The BBC today confirmed that 650 jobs would be lost at the BBC World Service in cutbacks that it said would lead to the loss of 30 million listeners around the world.

Peter Horrocks, the BBC's global news director, confirming the scale of the cuts in an internal staff briefing today, said it was a "difficult and sad day both personally and professionally" for the 2,000 staff who work at the global broadcaster.

Horrocks described it as an "enormous shift" for the World Service, where 650 jobs will go, including 480 posts over the next 12 months, as management implements cuts following a 16% cut in Foreign Office funding.

An estimated 68 jobs will go at the World Service's English-language service. Five foreign-language services will be axed and shortwave broadcasts cut back.

The five foreign-language services to be shut down are: Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, the Caribbean and Portuguese services for Africa.

Radio broadcasts in China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will be axed, and shortwave broadcasts will cease in Hindi. The Persian and Arabic services will work much more closely together with all evening radio programmes axed from the BBC Arabic service.

Overseas, the brunt of the cuts will be borne by the Arabic and Russian services, with the latter set to lose 45 posts, about half of its staff.

Horrocks said the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, has pledged to reverse the World Service cuts when the corporation takes over responsibility for its funding from the Foreign Office in 2014.

The Foreign Office funding cut and move for the World Service to be paid for from the licence fee from 2014 came out of the coalition government's comprehensive spending review in October.

His voice cracking with emotion, Horrocks told staff: "There is no doubt the ! period a head is going to be difficult and sad both personally and professionally for everyone in the World Service. I know it won't be easy for you to go back to your jobs and carry on today but I know that you will be professional as you have been all along and make sure our audiences get the service they deserve.

"Today is an extremely tough day for all of us but I assure you the World Service will get through this and continue to deliver brilliantly for our audiences. The task that we have is too important to fail."

The World Service has a worldwide audience of about 180 million listeners. the National Union of Journalists general secretary, Jeremy Dear, warned today that it would be eclipsed by the Voice of the America as the world's leading global broadcaster.

Horrocks said: "The changes we are announcing today will result in a loss of audiences. Our best estimate is that there will be an immediate drop of more than 30 million out of our audience figure of 180 million as a direct result of these changes."

"I know how much anger, upset and sadness there is going to be. That is going to be overwhelming for some people.

"We will come together and put our arms round each other and get through this. That is the only thing to do. If we end up fighting we will destroy ourselves."

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