The BBC is facing a major crisis as it plans to axe up to 2,000 jobs - around 10% of its workforce - to deliver £500 million in savings over the next two years. The sweeping cuts, announced on Wednesday during an all-staff call and in an email from interim Director-General Rhodri Talfan Davies, represent the biggest round of redundancies at the UK's national broadcaster in more than a decade.

Mr Davies told staff: "I know this creates real uncertainty, but we wanted to be open about the challenge," citing inflation, pressures on the licence fee and commercial income, as well as a turbulent global economy. The broadcaster had already warned earlier this year of "substantial financial pressures" and the need to shrink its budget by about a tenth by 2029.

Most of the new savings come in the next fiscal year starting April 2027, with Mr Davies not ruling out closing entire channels or services. The job losses were announced as former Google executive Matt Brittin prepares to take over as director-general next month.

He will replace the outgoing leadership after Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness resigned late last year, over a controversial Panorama documentary.

The programme was accused of misleading editing of then-US Presidential candidate Donald Trump's speech on January 6, 2021. President Trump is now suing the BBC for $10 billion in damages.

Funded mainly by the annual TV licence fee - recently increased to £169.50 - the BBC is both a cherished national institution and a frequent target of criticism.

Rival commercial broadcasters and licence-fee opponents argue the model looks outdated in the streaming age, when many households no longer watch live TV.

The centre-left Labour government has pledged "sustainable and fair" funding for the BBC but has not ruled out replacing the licence fee with a different system ahead of the next Royal Charter review.

Founded in 1922 as a radio service "to inform, educate and entertain," the BBC today runs multiple UK TV and radio networks, the international World Service, and the iPlayer streaming platform.

The latest cuts will add to ongoing debates about its size, impartiality and value for money in a rapidly changing media landscape.