ABC managing director David Anderson.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
The ABC is five months into athree-year freeze on any growth in its budget in a government-imposed indexation pause initially projected to shave a total of $84 million off expected annual funding. The ABC's directors are also due to meet for a scheduled board meeting on Tuesday,with these same issues likely to be on the agenda.
The high-level strategy meetings will look at how to handle the funding freeze overall and to lay out what future audiences will require and expect from the ABC to prioritise services,with sources close to the discussions saying there would undoubtedly be staff cuts most likely to be"upward of 200"roles.
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The ABC's 2018-19 annual report shows about 4000 people in the workforce are full time,covering all Australian states and territories,with 70 per cent in content. There are around 4650 staff overall.
Five years ago the ABC employed about 5440 people,with 4680 full-time employees,while in 2008-09 there were 4540 full time staff. There were more than 6000 employees in 1990,with a low of 4134 in 1999.
The total number of redundancies is difficult to predict,the sources said,but the ABC's executives have committed to telling employees in March what the strategy for the broadcaster will be until 2025.
However,cutting staff from the ABC's ranks of employees is not simply a move to cut costs. The sources said the decisions being made related to ensuring the broadcaster was more efficient and focused on distinctive programming,with a content plan to be revealed in the next few days covering television,radio,podcasts and digital. ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose is considered by those within the media industry to have a good understanding of the type of content the average taxpayer wants.