BBC Technology staff are threatening strike action over potential redundancies arising from the sale of BBC Technology.
BBC Technology staff are threatening strike action over potential redundancies arising from the sale of BBC Technology.

Bectu told the BBC that it would be balloting technical staff over industrial action after it was told in talks on Monday that a secret plan outlining large scale job cuts had been passed from the BBC to the remaining bidders of the £2bn technology contract.

Staff have demanded that any such cuts should be made prior to the sale due to the fear that severance terms and pensions could be worse under the new owner. Siemens and Accenture are the only remaining bidders for the 10-year contract after Computer Sciences Corporation pulled out last week. The sale is expected to save the BBC up to £30m-a-year.

"We always knew there was a risk of staff being fired once the sale went through, but it's astonishing that the current management are not just making the bullets, but loading them into the new employer's gun", said Bectu official Luke Crawley.

The redundancy plan - dubbed Project Leo - was drawn up prior to the decision to outsource the technology division to deliver cost reductions by reviewing efficiencies, which included job reductions.

Talks to discuss whether making necessary savings in-house could prevent the sale of BBCT were aborted after BBC management demanded that Bectu officials sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the plan secret.