Council to cut 400 from workforce

Glasgow City Council hopes to save about £23m by 2010

Scotland's largest council is aiming to cut up to 400 jobs in the next year in a bid to save almost £23m.

Glasgow City Council said posts would go in social work and education, land and environmental services and the chief executive's department.

The authority stressed that there would be no compulsory redundancies.

Its directors of human resources and finance have held preliminary meetings with unions to discuss the plans which go before the full council in February.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: "These are difficult and uncertain times and Glasgow is certainly not immune.

Like everyone else, we have to do more with less. Any job losses will be kept to a minimum Council spokesman

"The perfect storm of inflation, added to the credit crunch, means there are significant pressures on our budgets which we will have to deal with. If we do not, we will see our reserves cut to an unacceptably low level.

"Over recent years we have taken difficult decisions which have allowed us to put money in the bank for a rainy day and it's certainly raining now. While things will still be bad, they will be significantly better than they might have been.

"Like everyone else, we have to do more with less. Any job losses will be kept to a minimum and will be achieved through natural wastage or voluntary severance. There will be no compulsory redundancies."

Early retirement

The spokesman said the post reductions would be achieved through early retirement, non-filling of vacancies and voluntary redundancy.

About 110 posts will be lost in education and social work with a further 78 teaching posts also going.

The council spokesman stressed that most of the teaching losses would be achieved through early retirement and were connected to falling school rolls.

A further 139 posts will be lost in land and environmental services, which is currently undergoing major restructuring.

Another 60 jobs will go in the chief executive's department, with eight posts targeted in development and regeneration services.

Glasgow City Council currently employs about 32,200 people.