ITV has dropped the bombshell that it's entering talks about potential job cuts with its soap staff, following the recent shake-up of Coronation Street and Emmerdale's airing schedules.The broadcaster broke the news on Tuesday, revealing a major revamp for next year that will see fans enjoying five hours of soap drama per week instead of the current six.
Emmerdale is set to grace our screens at 8pm every evening for 30 minutes, with Coronation Street hot on its heels at 8:30pm, creating what ITV is branding as the soap 'power hour'.This schedule shift means ITV will be trimming down its soap teams, and a TV insider has spilled to the Mirror that up to 12 percent of the workforce could face redundancy.They have revealed that out of the 600-strong crew working on both soaps, about 75 might find their roles axed. "From 2026, and if the proposals are agreed, through consultation we would expect around 75 roles to be made redundant," they shared.
ITV is reportedly aiming to soften the blow by leaving vacancies unfilled and offering voluntary redundancies. An ITV spokesperson has commented, "We can't say for sure at this stage as we will be entering into a consultation process with staff.
Our aim is to achieve as many as we can through voluntary redundancy and filling vacancies." Emmerdale fans are accustomed to their daily half-hour dose of drama, along with a special hour-long episode every Thursday, while Coronation Street enthusiasts tune in for an hour of action at 8pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
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