ITV To Cut 600 Jobs After Massive Losses Announced

Broadcaster ITV is to cut 600 jobs as it has announced pre-tax losses of £2.73 billion for the year.
Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster is to cut around 500 jobs in Leeds with the closure of its Kirkstall Road studios, which makes programmes such as Heartbeat and The Royal.
The company's figures were affected by enormous write-downs on the value of its assets.
Heavy cuts to its programming budget - which will be slashed by £65 million this year, then frozen next year - have been announced. By 2011 it will be cut by £70 million.
ITV also plans to sell the social networking site Friends Reunited - which it paid £175 million three year ago – as well as the directories business Scoot.
Chairman Michael Grade said: "Current conditions in the advertising market are the most challenging I have experienced in over 30 years in UK broadcasting."
He added that the cuts were down to the "short-term horrors" of the economic downturn, which had seen advertising deteriorating from the end of last year.
"The tough actions we are taking have to be seen against that backdrop," Mr Grade said.
"These are unprecedented and extremely difficult times."
ITV reported a 41% drop in adjusted pre-tax profits to £167m last year and a 32% drop in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation to £211m.
The troubled broadcaster, whose TV ad revenue is down about 20% in the first quarter, said today that it would seek to save £155m this year, rising to total savings of £175m next year and £245m in 2011 through a variety of cost-cutting measures.
(JM/NS)