BBC plans to axe hundreds of jobs

London -- Britain's BBC news department may be getting ready to let go hundreds of workers under a plan by executive Mark Thompson to cut the network's budget.

The budget cuts reportedly will affect "The 10 O'Clock News" and "Newsnight," as well as many of the BBC's foreign bureaus, The Guardian reported Sunday.

"Many hundreds of jobs are under threat in news and there are serious questions over whether the quality of programs like 'Newsnight' and 'The 10 O'Clock News' can be maintained," said one source.

The BBC's news division employs about 2,000 journalists and it must now find savings of 5 percent, or about $8.9 million.

The broadcasting union, Bectu, and the National Union of Journalists may not be happy when they hear about the proposed budget cuts. They threatened a strike earlier this year over plans to fire 10 journalists.

"We're just coming to the end of the one set of proposals which cost 3,800 jobs. That was done without compulsory redundancies but it was painful and the people who are left behind are stretched to the limit. If they want to continue salami-slicing services, including news, that is not acceptable," said a Bectu spokesman.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.