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Job losses at BBC Technology

Hundreds of jobs to go in a substantial shake-up of the BBC's technology section
Written by Rachel Munro, Contributor

More than two hundred jobs will be lost in the next two months in a major shake-up of the BBC's technology arm, said Greg Dyke Thursday.

Director-general Dyke broke news of the cuts to staff at a meeting where he announced plans to form a new commercial venture, BBC Technology, from the company's technology wing.

Pending approval from culture secretary Chris Smith, BBC Technology will be launched in October. It will function as a wholly owned BBC subsidiary, but at arm's length from the corporation. The creation of BBC Technology is hoped to raise £150m over the next six years.

"The aim was to find more money to put into programmes and services. These changes will contribute to that objective by generating more commercial revenue, increasing efficiency and reducing the money spent on overheads," Dyke told Metro.

In a separate development BBC Online picked up two awards at the NetMedia award ceremony in London Thursday evening. Its coverage of the Paddington rail crash was deemed best news story broken on the Net and it also won best overall journalism service.

The BBC has come in for criticism for its digital offerings, with commercial broadcasters questioning what role a public broadcaster would play in the digital age. The BBC has also been accused of using licence fees to fund its Internet offerings.

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