Cuts in staff at the BBC are bigger than previously predicted. “The 2,050 job cuts – including 424 announced in December – take total job losses at the BBC to 3,780, saving £355m a year to reinvest in programmes. They are part of director general Mark Thompson’s plans to streamline the BBC. He told staff it was “the toughest period any of us can remember”. The National Union of Journalists said the cuts would “rip the heart out” of the corporation.