Ministers urged to act on ITV cuts

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The company blamed the "short-term horrors" of the economic downturn, including a slump in advertising, for the cuts which will account for 15% of its workforce and the closure of a studio in Leeds.

ITV will also sell its Friends Reunited social networking website, little more than three years after it bought the business for an initial £120 million, as it struggles in an economic climate executive chairman Michael described as "unprecedented and extremely difficult".

Drama output on ITV will be cut from eight hours a week to seven, with ITV already set to scale back production of Heartbeat and The Royal.

Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of the broadcasting workers' union Bectu, said he was "outraged" at the scale of the job cuts.

"We will do everything we can to protect our members and we will protest to Ofcom about ITV's claim to be investing more in programmes when they are cutting back. Michael Grade has abrogated his responsibility to ITV's staff," he said.

Bectu said it believed one-off drama programmes planned from this autumn would now be shelved because of the production cuts.

Changes have already been announced to The Bill, while ITV is believed to have two years of Heartbeat and The Royal episodes in stock.

The union called on Culture Secretary Andy Burnham to step in to stop further "damage" being done to ITV's programme-making capacity, adding that staff feel "betrayed".

But Mr Grade said the savings would ensure ITV is in the "best possible shape" when the recession ends. He maintained ITV has made "significant operational progress" over the past year, audience share is "inching upwards" and the broadcaster is increasing its advertising market share.