BBC radio stations in Yorkshire 'to share afternoon and evening shows' as dozens of jobs face the axe

In a Zoom call on Monday staff heard that 48 jobs would go across local staffing, representing two per cent of the workforce.

A source said they’d been told five different stations in Yorkshire would share one afternoon and one evening show, adding: “Humberside will be sharing with Leeds, Sheffield, York and Lincoln.”

They added that the broadcaster was inviting voluntary redundancies.

The source said: “It didn’t come as a surprise to me, everybody has seen what they’ve been doing for the past two or three years, getting rid of one show and extending the rest to four hours.

"They are talking about these new investigative journalists, who will be across radio and online.

"I feel most people will have to reapply for their jobs. It sounds like they will change them to the extent that most people would have to retrain or reapply.”

The proposals come as part of a new strategy, announced in May, to create a “modern, digital-led” broadcaster, which included the news that BBC Four and CBBC will end as linear channels in the coming years. Nearly 400 jobs are to go at the World Service as part of plans to move to a digital-led service.

All 39 BBC local radio stations will continue with their own dedicated local programming from 6am to 2pm on weekdays.

However, after 2pm the BBC will produce 18 afternoon programmes across England that will be shared between stations.

Ten local programmes will then be shared across England between 6-10pm on weekdays, across the day on Saturday and on Sunday mornings, serving areas broadly mirroring the existing local TV areas.

The BBC said there will be “additional investment” to support the production of the new shows.

The 48 jobs being cut include 40 due to the documentary series We Are England coming to an end.

Greater programme sharing will result in 139 fewer roles in audio teams, but there will be around 131 additional roles across local news services.

The changes will see around £19 million reprioritised from broadcast services towards online and multi-media production.

The BBC is also creating 11 investigative reporting teams across the country.

Director general Tim Davie has overseen a slimming down of the corporation since starting in 2020. The BBC needs to save a further £285 million in response to the freezing of the licence fee.​​

Hull Council leader Mike Ross said they would urge the Government to prevent any job losses or cuts to protect an “absolutely essential pillar of our communities”.

He said: “Thousands of families and pensioners right across Hull and the East Riding listen to shows on Radio Humberside every day. It’s vital to receive local news and updates, its future must be saved.”