Arab-language news channel Al-Jazeera will let go 500 staff. Staff at its various news bureaux will be affected as well as most of them from its Qatar headquarters.

The losses come on top of other major cut-backs at Al-Jazeera America channel, which is due to close on April 30th. Acting director general Mostefa Souag admitted that the decision was difficult but the group was confident it is the right step to take at the moment.

Al-Jazeera has about 70 news bureau around the world but has a major presence in Washington and London. A statement from Al-Jazeera described the decision as a workforce optimisation initiative in response to the ongoing transformation of the media landscape.

Souag added: “While our decision is consistent with those being made across the media industry worldwide, it was difficult to make nonetheless.”