More than 200 positions are expected to go at Isle of Wight Council.
The local authority says it's to "counter the effects of the credit crunch, to ensure this year's council tax rise is kept as low as possible and also to help the authority's ongoing drive to become more efficient." It's also blaming what it says is an under-funding of the national concessionary bus fare scheme that's left a £3.7 million shortfall.
Unison will be consulted and it's hoped compulsory redundancy will be avoided. The number of jobs that need to be lost include those already gone through management changes and a review of staffing in the children's services directorate. A further 70 are likely through the implementation of new schemes to deal with finance, payroll and procurement.
Chief Executive Steve Beynon said: "The council, in line with many other authorities around the country, has been hit by rising costs, a decline in income and at a time when the public sector is charged with reducing its costs through ever challenging efficiency savings. The net result is that this year we need to meet a budget shortfall of £8 million. We have explored in great detail how that saving may be achieved and it has, unfortunately, become clear that we are not able to do this without affecting staff..."
"Consideration will also initially be given to voluntary redundancies and early retirement as well as looking at other ways of minimising the impact on permanent staff, such as non-renewal of temporary contracts, seeking interest from staff wanting to work reduced hours, limiting overtime and continuing with the vacancy management controls that we have put in place to facilitate staff redeployment."