THE BBC is to shed up to 131 jobs because of a merger in research and

development, the corporation said yesterday.The savings of more than #5m

will go into programme-making.

The job cuts, including managers, technicians, and clerical workers,

result from a plan to merge engineering research and development, now

run as two departments with 281 staff.A BBC spokesman said some

redundancies would be achieved by not renewing contracts but there may

be compulsory cuts.

The changes, which will take effect from April 1 next year, reflect

increasing competition from outside industry, especially the

availability of ''off-the-shelf'' products and services.In future, there

will be a greater focus on research as opposed to the ''nuts and bolts''

side of development.