* There's plenty of fat to be cut at the ABC

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ABC staff confronting forced redundancies consoled each other with hugs after managing director Mark Scott announced on Monday that more than 400 jobs will be cut, television and radio programs axed and five regional radio bureaus closed.

Adam Harvey, a television reporter with the 7.30 Report, said the job cuts "will have a huge impact" on ABC programming and staff.

"There is a lot of money going out of the ABC, a lot of jobs going. It was a very sad day," he said. "Everybody here knows that this amount of money and this amount of staff going out of the ABC will result in a poorer product.

"They are not doing a general call out for voluntary redundancies, it is going to be targeted redundancies so that's particularly hard on people who may want to stay and can't."

Mr Harvey said staff were saddened that programs including Radio National's Bush Telegraph and the 7.30 NSW television program were among those being cut. The flagship Lateline television news program will lose resources and move to a new timeslot on ABC News 24.

"[ABC managing director] Mark Scott talked about putting more money into digital because that's the future," Mr Harvey said.

Mr Scott told staff on Monday that more than 400 jobs would be lost, close to 10 per cent of the ABC workforce, as a result of a $207 million budget cut from July 2015. It comes on top of a cut of $120 million announced in May.

"We regard the changes as vital to securing the long-term health of the organisation, but I acknowledge that is no comfort to those who will lose their positions," Mr Scott said.

The Adelaide television production studio would close, as would five regional radio centres.

Television sport broadcasts would also be scaled back as part of a rationalisation of broadcast vans.

Mr Scott said foreign bureaus would be restructured to allow a new post in Beirut to open.

The host of 7.30 NSW, Quentin Dempster, an ABC employee of more than 30 years, was sad about the loss of his program. The existing 7.30 Report hosted by Leigh Sales will be extended from Monday to Friday.

"I feel very sorry that when we get the long white envelope, it looks as though we won't be there for the 2015 state election," he said.

"That is a little bit of perverse editorial planning by the management in wanting to knock these shows on the head."

Mr Dempster said the decision to sacrifice state-based shows, including his, with original content to channel $10 million in extra funding to upgrade iView technology was hard to understand.

"I think there is a fair bit more blood to flow that we don't know about," he said.

"I suspect they are going to run a spill of a lot of positions to have a skills audit and people will have to reapply [for their jobs]."

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Federal Secretary Chris Warren said the ABC announcement marked "one of the largest job cuts in the media industry that we've seen".

He said 300 of the 400 jobs targeted would be cut before Christmas.

"It will mean a significant reduction in the ability of the ABC to keep the Australian people informed of the things that matter to them," he said.

"Inevitably when you have efficiencies you lose regionalism and localism. There will be regional offices closed or downgraded," Mr Warren said.

Newcastle and Canberra would lose much of their local content and be networked to national content providers.

"All of that will mean just less diversity particularly in local and regional news," Mr Warren said. "That will be very bad for the important role the ABC has always played as being both the national voice and the local voice for so many people."

Mr Warren said what was tragic about the ABC cuts were that they were "totally unnecessary".

"There are some local managers who are jumping the gun who are trying to pick and choose who they want to move on based on personalities," he said.

"I think there are some really key people who the ABC is going to lose and ABC management needs to take a deep breath and make sure these changes are being effected with the support of their staff."

He said redundancies should be voluntary.

Community and Public Sector Union national president Michael Tull said the government cuts would seriously impact on the quality of programming, despite assurances to the contrary by Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"Programs are being cut and regional radio offices are closing so once again the government is lying when it said that the cuts to the ABC budget would not affect the public," he said.

"These cuts are not about helping the ABC - as Malcolm Turnbull would have us believe – they are about attacking and weakening it."

Mr Tull said the ABC's formal consultation with unions would begin on Wednesday.

"We will be looking for more detail and justification for these cuts. We are absolutely opposed to compulsory redundancies and we will fight them tooth and nail. We want to protect as many jobs as possible. The ABC must consult with staff and we will be reminding ABC management of that legal obligation."