See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy TOM LAWRENCE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:30 BST, 8 September 2026 | Updated: 19:13 BST, 8 September 2026
Channel 4 will be hit by its biggest-ever round of layoffs with around 300 people facing job losses as the broadcaster battles to cut costs.New chief executive Priya Dogra is set to address an all-staff meeting on Wednesday, to discuss a wide-ranging review of the broadcaster's strategy and structure.The former advertising boss at Sky took the reins at the channel six months after Alex Mahon departed.The broadcaster employs 1,276 people, according to its last annual report in 2025, after it expanded across the UK.Two years ago, Ms Mahon oversaw 200 job cuts in another huge round of layoffs after the worst downturn in TV advertising revenue since 2008.At the time, Channel 4's wage bill had risen to £108million. Today it has risen to £122million.Final numbers of job losses are still set to be finalised, but sources expect it will amount to between 300 and 325 staff being laid off. Around a quarter of Channel 4's workforce could be at risk of job losses in a huge round of layoffsStaff are braced for cuts to be 'brutal', a source told The Guardian, with a focus expected to be on jobs in London after the channel expanded into regions across the country.Channel 4 currently employs 255 full-time staff in the commercial department, 423 in creative roles, 542 in operations and 56 at its 4Talent arm, according to its last annual report.It is understood that Ms Dogra wants the channel to focus on more well-funded hits and scaling back on the number of shows it commissions.The broadcaster is also seeking a new director of programmes after former Newsnight editor Ian Katz left his role as chief content officer earlier this year.A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: 'As we have shared publicly, under the leadership of our new chief executive, we have been assessing Channel 4's strategic direction, including a comprehensive review of the structure, shape and size of our organisation.'We have committed to keeping Channel 4 staff updated in a timely and transparent way, so any organisational change will be shared with them first and we won't be commenting on speculation.'Channel 4 is the latest terrestrial channel to face budget cuts after the BBC announced 2,000 people would lose jobs at the corporation earlier this year.It is part of a move to slash licence-fee funded spending by 10 per cent in the next three years.A number of cancellations followed, including axeing Radio 4's The World Tonight after more than half a century, Ski Sunday after nearly 50 years on air and long-running football show Football Focus. New chief executive Priya Dogra is set to address an all-staff meeting on Wednesday amid fears of jobs cutsBBC Breakfast was also put on the chopping block and is no longer shown on Sundays.The production teams making Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and Newsnight have also merged.New director-general Matt Brittin revealed the scale of the cuts to staff in an email, confirming that more than a quarter of the corporation's planned 1,800 to 2,000 redundancies will come from editorial and broadcasting teams.The move forms part of the broadcaster's bid to save £500million over the next two years, with around 700 corporate roles also expected to disappear as the corporation embarks on a major restructuring programme.
