BBC delays start of job reduction

London: The BBC has bowed to union pressure and abandoned the first stage of its plans to axe 2,500 jobs.

In a desperate attempt to head off strike action, it postponed a trawl for voluntary redundancies. The move came after a tense afternoon of talks. Union bosses had threatened to ballot members immediately for strike action, hitting high-profile BBC output.

The BBC agreed to postpone for two weeks the delivery of letters asking staff to come forward for voluntary redundancy. This will give time for further talks. But it stated it remained "committed to writing to relevant staff on November 5".