Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The BBC Trust today approved plans for the future of the corporation, believed to include 2,800 job losses.
Chairman Sir Michael Lyons said after a meeting in Central London that the trustees had been unanimous in approving plans drawn up by director general Mark Thompson aimed at plugging a £2 billion funding shortfall.
Sir Michael said the plans were "definitely" in the best interests of the BBC, although they are expected to lead to the threat of strikes before Christmas.
Union officials claimed today that the BBC has already prepared letters seeking volunteers for redundancy which will be sent out on Friday.
The letters already have Friday's date on them, proving that the corporation does not intend to enter into meaningful negotiations over job cuts, said officials.
Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said: "This is clearly a provocative act and a sign that the BBC has no intention of entering meaningful negotiations because they have already made up their mind."
The NUJ and the broadcasting workers' union Bectu will make it clear they will not accept any compulsory redundancies and will demand a risk assessment of staff left at the BBC after the cuts to make sure they can cope with any extra workload.
A source warned that strikes would be "inevitable" if these demands are not met.
The plans will be revealed to BBC staff tomorrow morning, followed by a meeting of union officials to decide their response.
Mr Thompson is expected to announce the creation of 1,000 new jobs to offset those being lost.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments