Greg Dyke said dragging out changes would be bad for morale

Mr Dyke, who resigned in the wake of the Hutton report earlier this year, told Newsnight he "would not have done some of the things they are doing".

He said he found it offensive that jobs were being cut in favour of outside bodies to "appeal to the government".

His successor Mark Thompson announced plans to cut 2,900 jobs last week.

Mr Dyke told the BBC Two programme he could not understand the BBC board's support of the job-cutting plans.

"I find the position of the board of governors a bit odd because many of those governors were the people who sat there for the last four years supporting a completely different approach," he said.

I think the creativity of an organisation is based on the morale and enthusiasm and the energy of the staff. And it's hard to do when you're making big cuts. Greg Dyke

Under Mr Thompson's restructuring plan, about 2,900 jobs will go while thousands are to be relocated from London to Manchester over the next few years.

Departments will also be asked to make 15% savings.

The measures come as the corporation's charter is up for renewal by the government in 2006.

It governs the BBC's activities and sets out its function, its role and how it fulfils its duties.

Mr Dyke: "I think the creativity of an organisation is based on the morale and enthusiasm and the energy of the staff.

'Taking jobs'

"And it's hard to do when you're making big cuts. If you could make all those big cuts at one time then you could pick it up later.

"If you have to drag them out over three or four years, it's incredibly debilitating for an organisation," he said.

Mr Dyke denied that if he had stayed in the job he would have faced a "new political reality" which would have forced him to make the same decision.

"I don't think that's the case no ... personally I find it offensive in some ways that you try to appeal to a Labour government by taking people who have got decent jobs - not particularly well paid, but not bad jobs - where they get pensions and they have proper support systems and the rest of it, and we want to take those things outside, often to organisations where you get none of those.

"And so I wouldn't have done some of things that they are doing, but that's the choice of the director-general and the board."