Channel 4 to axe around 300 jobs in brutal cost-cutting drive as it cuts ‘quarter of its workforce’

CHANNEL 4 is reportedly set to axe around 300 jobs in a brutal cost-cutting drive. The broadcaster’s staff numbers had risen to 1,276 by 2025, according to its latest annual report, after undergoing an expansion across the UK. Staff are now expecting the latest cuts to be “brutal”, a source told the Guardian. Priya Dogra, who took over from Alex Mahon as chief executive in March, is to address an all-staff meeting tomorrow for a huge review of Channel 4’s strategy and structure, reports the outlet. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Channel 4 is still working on final numbers for job losses, according to the newspaper. However, multiple sources have reportedly claimed that the level of savings being sought equates to about 300 to 325 staff roles – a quarter of the workforce. Two years ago, Ms Mahon announced 200 job cuts – then the biggest round of layoffs in more than 15 years – as staff numbers swelled to a record 1,350 amid the worst TV advertising downturn since 2008. At the time of her cost-cutting programme, Channel 4’s wage bill had hit £108m, a figure that has grown significantly in the past two years to £122m. When the TV advertising market slumped during the 2008 financial crisis, Channel 4 similarly sought to balance its finances by cutting 200 jobs, which accounted for almost a quarter of its then 875 permanent employees. London is likely to be a significant focus for job cuts, according to the Guardian. Most read in TV It was only last year when Channel 4 delivered on a promise to increase employee numbers in the nations and regions to 600. According to its annual report, Channel 4 currently employs 255 full-time equivalent staff in its commercial department, 423 in creative roles, 542 in operations, and 56 at its 4Talent arm. A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: “As we have shared publicly, under the leadership of our new chief executive, we have been assessing Channel 4’s strategic direction, including a comprehensive review of the structure, shape and size of our organisation. “We have committed to keeping Channel 4 staff updated in a timely and transparent way, so any organisational change will be shared with them first and we won’t be commenting on speculation.” Ms Dogra is also expected to make changes to the content and commissioning operation. Last year this operated with a £640million programming budget, of which £480million was spent on British original content. It is understood that she wants Channel 4 to cut back on the number of shows it commissions. The broadcaster is thought to instead focus on finding fewer but more well-funded hits, alongside increasing marketing firepower to promote programmes – a model she operated while an executive at Sky and Warner Bros Discovery.