The BBC has announced plans to cut around 450 jobs across England.

The broadcaster said that BBC England must save £25 million ($45 million) by the end of March 2022.

BBC England is the home of the corporation’s local radio stations and regional TV news, and according to the BBC will “undergo a significant reinvention”.

It comes after the BBC last month said it was axing more than 150 roles in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Last month outgoing director-general Lord Tony Hall launched a program of voluntary redundancy across the BBC.

BBC to cut 450 jobs in its English regional TV news and current affairs, local radio and online news https://t.co/9joQXq3VYR

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 2, 2020

The BBC already had an £800 million savings target before the coronavirus pandemic led to an additional £25 million deficit.

Helen Thomas, the director of BBC England, said: “I’m proud people have turned to us for trusted news and information in huge numbers during COVID-19, proving the importance of our local and regional services.

“But those services were created more than 50 years ago, have changed very little and need significant reinvention. That has meant taking some difficult decisions.

“We are in the age of the Facebook community group and the WhatsApp neighbourhood chat. We must adapt to better reflect how people live their lives, how they get their news and what content they want.

“We’re going to modernise our offer to audiences in England by making digital a central part of everything we do. We’ll take forward lessons from COVID-19 that will make us more agile and more in touch with communities while also ensuring we’re as efficient as we can be.”

Michelle Stanistreet, National Union of Journalists general secretary, said: “These are huge cuts which will inevitably have an impact on the BBC’s ability to sustain the breadth and depth of news coverage throughout England which truly reflects the diversity of the nation.

“The financial challenges are clear – the solution requires public engagement and financial intervention from the government to ensure the BBC’s survival as an institution prized and valued all over the world.”

-AAP