Scores of jobs are set to go at the ABC as management of the public broadcaster juggles funding cuts and future output.
Chief executive Mark Scott says the federal government's decision to stop backing ABC International which runs the Australia Network and the Asia Pacific News Centre, led news bosses to call in staff on Monday and flag changes.
"Difficult decisions need to be made," he said on Monday, adding that reduced staff numbers were inevitable.
The international service will take on a new "converged" guise, which could include repackaged content.
The Community and Public Sector Union says up to 80 jobs, mostly Melbourne-based, will be axed.
Voluntary redundancies will not be offered and managers will handpick which staff keep their positions, union president Michael Tull said.
"We don't accept the process of forced redundancies and we believe the ABC is in breach of its industrial obligations," he told AAP.
Mr Tull said there could be more job losses which is bad news for staff and for Australians who expect quality content from the ABC.
The national broadcaster's budget was cut by $43 million in the May budget and an efficiency review has recommended cutting a further $40-50 million.
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