ABC to restructure its technology division

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is planning a restructure of its technology division that could see as many as 37 jobs lost.

The proposal would bring together staff from across the broadcaster’s product, design and development areas into a single ‘product and content technology team’.

The consolidation follows an effective $83.7 million funding cut – by pausing indexation of operational funding over the next three years – in last month’s federal budget.

The ABC said the changes were expected to impact 37 people to “achieve efficiencies and enable it to reinvest funds into content creation”.

Further comment was being sought by iTnews at the time of publication.

The technology team was made up 678 FTE staff as at June 2017.

The broadcaster said the consolidation would allow the ABC to “prioritise digital products, content management and core technology capabilities”.

“Under the proposal, the ABC will double its investment in digital products for audiences, to recognise the shift from broadcast to digital platforms,” it said.

The “flatter structure” would also allow for “faster and more streamlined decision-making and accountability”.

“These are hard decisions, but the right ones to guarantee the ABC remains properly equipped, now and into the future, with so many rapid changes in technology,” chief digital and information officer Helen Clifton said in a statement.

An October 2015 restructure saw 29 IT jobs cut after the government's decision to cut funding by $254 million over five years.