The BBC is facing a TV and radio blackout next month if backroom staff vote for strike action after a dispute over the sale of the corporation's technology division escalated.
Technical and production staff union Bectu claimed that BBC managers have secret proposals for hundreds of redundancies as part of their plans to sell off BBC Technology.
Bectu said BBC managers have handed the plan, codenamed Project Leo, to the two companies bidding to acquire the division but that the corporation refused to divulge details unless union bosses signed confidentiality agreements, which they refused.
In a meeting with BBC executives yesterday, Bectu officials were told the plan had been passed to the bidders as part of the sell-off process.
The union said although it had not been shown details of Project Leo, it believed the plan contained a job-by-job guide to trimming up to 350 staff in order to meet cost savings targets.
Siemens and Accenture are the only two remaining companies competing to buy BBC Technology and service the lucrative £2bn,10-year contract to provide IT services to the broadcaster.
Bectu official Luke Crawley claimed BBC managers had refused to reveal the plan to BBC Technology's 1,400 staff because they said it was "too upsetting".
"We always knew there was a risk of staff being fired once the sale went through, but it's astonishing that the current management are not just making the bullets but loading them into the new employer's gun," he said.
Bectu claims the BBC has given it insufficient time to negotiate staff terms and conditions before ownership of BBC Technology passes to either Accenture or Siemens.
BBC disappointed by staff reaction
The BBC said staff were its priority and that it was "disappointed" to have received notification of a ballot for industrial action but admitted it had planned job cuts within the division.
"We have made it very clear to staff and the union all the way through this process that staff issues are a priority, and during the ongoing commercial negotiations these have remained at the top of the agenda.
But it said it was not "in the interests of the staff or the BBC to reveal full details of these extensive negotiations" for what it described as "obvious commercial reasons".
It added that cost reductions had always been on the cards.
"BBC Technology had an ongoing commitment to the BBC to deliver cost reductions and as part of its review of services had undertaken a study to review efficiencies, including job reductions, that would be required to deliver its next phase of price reductions to the BBC."
It plans to hold a ballot on strike action on Friday in protest over what it claims is the corporation's refusal to give "cast-iron guarantees over job security and conditions", with a possible 24-hour strike planned for the second half of July.
The BBC is selling the subsidiary - which provides technology services to its own channels as well as other broadcasters including BSkyB, DirecTV, ESPN and video mobile company Hutchison - in an attempt to cut costs by £20m-£30m.
Under the terms of the sale, which is subject to European Union procurement procedures and approval from the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, the winning bidder will have to take on the majority of BBC Technology's employees.
Last week technology services group Computer Sciences Corporation pulled out of the competition for the division. The required commitment to BBC Technology staff is believed to have been the main stumbling block to further negotiations.
In a statement Bectu said yesterday it believed Project Leo had been drawn up last year in a bid to meet the cost saving targets and expected it to lead to cuts in BBC Television's "nerve centre", the Central Communications Area and in the IT department.
Mr Crawley said Bectu had been told the BBC planned to announce the winner of the bidding process on July 5 and effect the transfer of the department during September. He said Bectu aimed to delay the process by appealing to Department of Culture Media and Sport for more time for negotiations.
"The only way they can meet the cost savings is by cutting a large number of staff. The BBC is hoping to pass responsibility to the new owner," he said.
The BBC said it was preparing to issue a statement later today.
Last month Bectu called on the BBC chairman, Michael Grade, to call off the sale, arguing that the reasoning behind it was "flawed".
"Given that BBC Technology is actually the nervous system of the BBC and is central to the convergence of broadcasting and information technology, it is a proposal which makes no sense," Bectu said in the letter.
"Any new owner will insist on making a profit on the operation, so it is likely to cost the BBC significantly more than retaining it in-house."
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