BBC staff fear the worst as job cuts loom

BBC staff today told of their anxiety over thousands of job cuts which are due to be announced tomorrow.

Director- general Mark Thompson will reveal the redundancies after months of speculation inside the BBC.

Counsellors are on stand-by to deal with staff who are handed redundancy notices.

One senior source said: "This has gone on for such a long time that people are working themselves into quite a state. After all, you are talking about people's livelihoods here.

"There is a real fear that some people might collapse when the news is broken."

Job losses are thought to account for more than a third of the 28,000-strong workforce.

One employee, who asked not to be named, said: "Morale is at its lowest probably since Greg Dyke was sacked.

"There have been so many rumours flying around and no clear-cut pledges from management-that everyone's in fear for their jobs."

The director-general is likely to announce broad proposals. Although many compulsory redundancies will be revealed, further headcounts may not be confirmed until the New Year.

One insider said such a move would antagonise an already fractious workforce.

The source said: "We've all been waiting for so long to hear what's going to happen, and if Thompson just comes up with a few headline figures and palliatives and expects us all to wait for more news in January it's going to really p*** people off.

"Everyone's going to spend Christmas wondering if their job is on the line or not."

Another source said: "Mark Thompson is trying to do too much all at the same time. He has destabilised the BBC."