Future BBC will be 20,000 strong, says Thompson

Ariel: 19 January 2005

Mark Thompson has reconfirmed the inevitability of 'some compulsory redundancies' as change plans across the BBC are implemented.

In an interview with John Humphrys at the News Festival in White City yesterday, the director general said the corporation is likely to settle down in the coming years to have around 20,000 staff.

Redundancies start taking hold this summer and will see the corporation slimming down from the 27,000 staff it had in 2004-05.

The DG promised that management would 'keep a very close track on headcount' to ensure that it does not start creeping up again.

When asked if the BBC pension would be retained in its present form as a 'final salary' scheme, Thompson warned that both the corporation and its employees are likely to face significant increases in contributions to keep the scheme healthy.

During the interview, Thompson also defended plans to move to Manchester and stressed the need for the BBC to hit staff diversity targets.

'It's not about being do-gooders or being PC…it's about what you need to do to reflect the make-up of the country', he said.