BBC staff have been told their bosses will forgo a pay rise this year but fear the freeze will lead to a meagre increase for the rank and file, who have been urged to be realistic about the outcome of union negotiations.

Employees have been told that the corporation’s executive committee – its 12 highest-paid bosses including the director general, who were paid almost £5m in total last year – will have their pay frozen this year amid a £600m cost-cutting drive.

“Part of our [savings] plans is that members of the BBC executive committee will receive no annual pay award this year,” said Rhodri Talfan Davies, the interim director general, in an all-staff video meeting session. “[This is] recognising the scale of the financial challenge we have at the moment.”

The corporation is in the process of formulating plans to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest downsizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years.

As part of Monday’s question and answer session, Davies was asked about what impact the cost-cutting drive would have on a promised pay rise for the BBC’s more than 20,000 staff.

The corporation has been in talks with staff unions, who have made a pay claim for a rise of 4.5%. Pay rises for rank and file staff, the vast majority of employees, come into force on 1 August each year. If negotiations are not finalised in time, pay is backdated after a deal is reached.

“We are in discussions with the trade unions regarding this year’s pay settlement,” said Davies, addressing concerns of a pay freeze raised by staff during the video session. “We are … committed to introducing an annual pay increase. But what I would say, these are exceptional circumstances at the moment, so we are going to be realistic and prudent about what is possible.”

Insiders said staff felt the freeze for top brass was meant to signal to staff not to expect a decent pay rise this year.

One staffer said: “By limiting the pay freeze to a small group of already very well-paid individuals – and not mentioning or including the hundreds in the senior leadership team – they are virtue signalling that even the lowest paid should not hope for much better.”

The latest staff update comes days before the arrival of Matt Brittin, the former top Google executive who takes over as the corporation’s new director general from 18 May.

Staff at divisions across the BBC are expected to receive more details about the level of cuts in June, and be told in September whether they have lost their job.

On Tuesday, Rachel Corp, the chief executive of ITN, which produces news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, announced that she was stepping down with immediate effect after four years.

The surprise announcement has added to speculation that Corp could replace Deborah Turness, who resigned as the head of BBC News in November.

In an email to staff, Corp indicated that she already had another job lined up. “This has not been an easy decision, and it’s one I have been considering for some time,” said Corp, who has spent three decades in various roles at ITN. “I am excited for what comes next, not just for me (watch this space!) but also for ITN.”

Turness and the previous BBC director general, Tim Davie, jointly announced their resignations after a former adviser to the corporation accused it of “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights.

Turness, a member of the BBC’s executive committee who was paid £431,000 last year, has been replaced on an interim basis by Jonathan Munro, the BBC News global news director and director of the World Service.

The BBC declined to comment.