1,200 jobs could go at Aberdeen City Council
600 staff facing axe
Published:
MORE than 1,200 jobs could be lost at Aberdeen City Council in the next few years, the Evening Express can reveal today.
A leading city councillor said local authorities faced a 12% cut in public spending.
His warning came after Aberdeen City Council said up to 600 jobs could go next year.
Neil Fletcher, a vice-president of local authority body COSLA, said: “It’s widely expected that there will be a 12%-14% reduction in public spending in real terms over the next five years.
Council leader John Stewart today said people faced being laid off if savings couldn’t be made.
Council bosses in Aberdeen are looking to slash the workforce to balance their books.
They are asking staff to take voluntary severance, cut their hours, or take on new roles – or face the prospect of compulsory redundancy.
Chief executive Sue Bruce said: “We must all, however, face the fact that the very difficult economic climate and the extremely tight financial settlement that we are expecting from the Scottish Government together mean that very difficult choices will have to be made.”
The job cuts could come across all services and departments, and would be part of a 5% saving – worth £16.9 million in 2010/11.
Aberdeen City Council bosses described compulsory redundancies as a “last resort”.
Last year around 300 staff accepted voluntary severance and early retirement packages to help the council make savings.
Council staff also volunteered to accept reductions to their hours and to take on other jobs.
Readers' Comments
After reading in last weeks EE that each Aberdeen City Council employee takes 2 weeks paid sickness leave every year, will the Aberdeen public have any sympathy on these latest round of job cuts?
Scott Buchan
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