Affected positions in the department, which is responsible for producing Panorama, include reporting roles as well as production and support posts in London and Manchester. In total, 12 of the posts to be cut are journalist roles, 14 are producer or picture editor roles and the rest support positions such as researcher.
In a release today, the broadcaster said the changes aim to increase flexibility by allowing programme makers to vary staff levels in order to manage "peaks and troughs" in production, and are designed to ensure the BBC can "keep pace with the fast-changing media environment".
Despite the cuts the number of people working on current affairs programmes will remain "broadly" the same, the BBC says, with additional short-term contract staff to be used to "increase the overall skills mix".
Executive editor and commissioning editor for TV Current Affairs Clive Edwards said it is "going to be a very tough time" for staff.
"We are committed to keeping on producing the very best programmes but to do that it's crucial we implement this restructure.
"Because rates of production fluctuate it has become uneconomic to keep the current number of staff on full-time payroll and so the restructure will change our staffing mix. Although this has been a very hard decision to come to I am confident that it will mean we can continue to produce programmes of the very highest quality and impact."
The planned cuts follow the announcement of up to 360 posts to be cut at BBC Online and plans to reduce posts in the BBC World Service by around 650 people.
The National Union of Journalists deputy general secretary Michelle Stanistreet condemned the latest cuts at the broadcaster.
"The proposed cuts to BBC current affairs are a further legacy of the supine approach of one of the world’s leading broadcasters to the Coalition government.
"Slate by slate and floor by floor, an outstanding broadcasting service which took more than ninety years to build is being destroyed in an onslaught of a thousand cuts.
"The attacks on current affairs staff are further reducing the ability of the BBC to deliver on its sacred pledge to the public: to inform, educate and entertain."
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