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The BBC said Wednesday that it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs to save 10% of its annual budget - 500 million pounds ($677 million) - over the next two years. The layoffs announced during a call with staff are the biggest in more than a decade at the UK national broadcaster. "I know this creates real uncertainty, but we wanted to be open about the challenge," interim Director-General Rhodri Talfan Davies said in a staff email. Davies said that the reductions were driven by inflation, pressures to license fee and commercial income and a turbulent global economy. The BBC said earlier this year that it faced "substantial financial pressures" and wanted to cut about a tenth of its budget by 2029. The bulk of the cuts are to be made in the next fiscal year beginning April 1, 2027. The cuts come as former Google executive Matt Brittin is scheduled to take over as director-general next month. He will fill the vacancy left after Tim Davie, and head of news Deborah Turness resigned over a .
IT employees' body NITES has exhorted tech firms to prioritise reskilling over layoffs, while calling for policy intervention to bring stronger safeguards and mandatory severance norms to protect white-collar workers, as aggressive AI build-outs by industry trigger job cuts and uncertainty for workforce. Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has argued that although tech profits remain strong, weakening job security raises serious questions about corporate responsibility and accountability. "First, companies must take responsibility. If they are investing in AI, they should also invest in reskilling their existing workforce," NITES president Harpreet Singh Saluja told PTI. Job cuts should be the last option, not the first, he said, urging policymakers to intervene immediately, to shield workers by enforcing clear workplace guidelines on layoffs, mandatory notice periods, fair severance, and employer accountability. "India still lacks strong legal protection for ..
US-based IT firm Oracle is believed to have laid off approximately 12,000 staff in India, with another round of layoffs expected within a month, impacted employees said on Tuesday. Globally, the company has fired around 30,000 employees. "In India, around 12,000 employees have been laid off. The company is planning another mass layoff within a month," said two people impacted by the retrenchment, including one from the company's human resource department. The company has approximately 30,000 employees in India, including those affected by the layoffs. Oracle declined to comment on the development. Oracle, in an email sent to staff, said the employees were informed about certain organisational changes and "because of these changes, a decision has been taken to streamline the operations, and as a result, unfortunately, the position you currently hold will become redundant". The company has offered 15 days' salary to each employee who has completed a year of service in India, in add