ABC has announced the decision to make 120 staff redundant in changes made to the national broadcaster. 

The news division cuts will include 41 jobs, including journalists, editors, camera and sound operators on 7.30, Australian Story, Four Corners and the investigations team, as well as a further seven jobs in the previous regional and local division.

The most high-profile cut is political editor Andrew Probyn.

In another major change, the ABC's Sunday state 7pm television news bulletins will become one national bulletin.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which represents journalists, said the ABC had been running on empty for the past decade, and there were concerns over how the broadcaster would continue to deliver quality journalism.

Change to Sunday program

At the moment, the ABC does seven state-based bulletins at 7pm in eight different locations around the country, every night of the week.

"What we're proposing in this proposal, is that on one night of the week, on Sunday night, the audience are going to get a really fantastic and strong national bulletin which will be updated in states that are on a different time difference," ABC News director Justin Stevens told ABC radio. 

Stevens said while states and territories would no longer have a dedicated bulletin on a Sunday, that would not result in further job cuts.

In the proposed changes, the ABC will still have the ability in any state to do a local bulletin when there's local breaking news.

"At the moment we've factored into our plan over 30 pop-up local bulletins when it warrants it, so when you've got a state election or a significant event or emergency coverage, we will do a specific local bulletin on that Sunday," he said. 

Stevens said the loss of the state-based Sunday bulletin would be offset by the return of the Stateline program, which he said would be digital-first and focus on state and territory news and current affairs.

"This will be available on-demand to digital and social audiences and via ABC iview and also form part of an extended Friday 7pm news bulletin for broadcast audiences that will run in an extended bulletin to 7.40pm," he said. 

Job losses

The highest profile role to be made redundant was that of political editor Andrew Probyn.

It was a decision that drew backlash from other journalists on Thursday as Probyn told external media, including The Guardian and The Australian the decision had left him "gobsmacked" and "flabbergasted".

However, Stevens defended the decision and said the ABC needed to adapt how content was provided to audiences.

"We need to change the way we are servicing the audience," Stevens said.

"Now, the political editor role at the ABC over a number of years was really a role that was dedicated to servicing 7pm.

"What we need to do in our Canberra bureau is to structure it so that it serves audiences across the board."

Stevens said the ABC also needed to shift its efforts to attract and retain younger audiences.

"Increasingly we're seeing younger people accessing news and information on other platforms and if we don't service them, in 20, 30, 40 years, we won't have the audience we have now," Stevens said.

Stevens also highlighted the role social media would play in news distribution.

"We could also put out a piece of social media, on say TikTok or Instagram, about a really strong investigation," he said.

"If that doesn't go on Instagram or TikTok people under the age of 30 won't even know it occurred or that it should matter to them."

MEAA critical of changes

The changes were not welcomed by the MEAA.

"The ABC’s decision to make its political editor redundant along with dozens of experienced journalists will inevitably weaken its ability to deliver quality journalism to the Australian public," it said in a statement.

MEAA media director Cassie Derrick said the targeting of long-standing, experienced journalists would hurt the ABC's reporting now and well into the future.

"The ABC has been running on empty for the past decade and we are concerned about how it can continue to deliver quality public-interest journalism with even fewer staff following these cuts," she said.

"Local journalism in our country continues to be eroded, and these cuts are a further insult to local audiences.

"MEAA members will be demanding a voice at the table to ensure the ABC does continue to deliver the news and other content that the Australian public deserves." 

Thursday's announcements took place not long after the release of the ABC's five-year plan, which is aimed at ensuring the broadcaster's relevance in a digital age.

Managing Director David Anderson addressed the proposed changes in an email sent to all ABC staff.

"By 2028 the ABC will be an integrated digital operation, and audience engagement will predominantly be through our digital products. This means enhancing our digital products — ABC News, ABC iview and ABC listen," he said.

"Traditional radio and television broadcasting remains important to us, but we must adapt for the current media environment and the future.

"The decisions we make now are necessary for the longer term. The reinvestment and the transition to digital-first will mean new roles and new skills are required across our workforce."