EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has put more than 80 employees at risk of redundancy across the product teams that help power online services, including iPlayer.
The British broadcaster is planning to make delivery managers redundant in its “product group” as it embraces a model that managers said mirrors processes in Silicon Valley.
The BBC is effectively doing away with a group of project managers who help engineering teams with workload forecasting and delivery. One insider said it was a “major” change.
In an internal email setting out the plans, the BBC said: “We must transform how we build and ship products, and to do so, we’re moving from a traditional delivery model to empowered, discovery-led teams that are outcome-focused.”
The email, seen by Deadline, continued: “The BBC needs to transform to deliver outstanding value for our audiences as well as securing the BBC’s future as a universal public service broadcaster that can compete in a global market.
“Our ability to respond to the very real challenges of increased global competition, changing audience behaviour, digital disruption and increasing costs requires innovation, agility and growth as outlined in our product strategy.”
Sent by Kelly Kowal, chief operating officer in the BBC’s product and engineering group, the message added: “Your professionalism, empathy, and resilience are deeply appreciated as we navigate this together.”
BBC product group provides the architecture and systems that power News, Sport, iPlayer, Sounds, and Bitesize apps, as well as bringing BBC content to web and smart TV platforms.
A BBC spokesperson said: “BBC product group delivers world-class digital products and services to millions of people – including BBC iPlayer, Sounds, Sport and News.
“These proposed changes are about ensuring we respond to the challenges of increased global competition, changing audience behaviour, digital disruption and the increasing costs required to deliver value for all audiences.”
