Cheshire East Council plans to cut 1000 jobs over the next few years.
As one of the largest employers in the area, the Council currently employs about 5,500 staff, excluding staff in local schools, and the total cost of Cheshire East's wage bill is about £140m a year.
The Council hopes to reduce the size of the workforce by 1000 posts over the next few years through natural turnover, as people leave or retire, and without the need for large-scale redundancies.
The Council also intends to set up new social enterprises, staff mutuals (like John Lewis) and arms-length companies owned by the Council which will employ about 1000 staff in three years' time - as well as outsourcing some services to the voluntary sector and the private sector, as they currently do.
Cheshire East Council Leader, Councillor Michael Jones said: "I am proud of the quality and creative thinking of our staff. They do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.
"What I'm clear about achieving through our top down review of management structures is that we keep our most talented staff and give them the freedom to do an even better job for local people.
"As a good local employer, we will do all we can to support our staff through these changes. This will include finding suitable alternative work, where necessary, and investing in retraining them to keep their skills up to date.
"Our bold, but careful approach will give priority to protecting essential frontline jobs, and to investing in good-quality, value-for-money services."
For more details see my previous article Council unveils three-year financial plan.
Comments
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And as previously reported on this site this has included:-
1) Ignoring written council procedures
2) Not complying with planning procedures
3) Not complying with European Union Regulations
4) Not ensuring that there was effective reporting to members of the Council.
and.............?
Only time will tell.
I have no doubt that there are many people employed by the council that are hard working, conscientious, and do a fantastic job. I hope they are not one of the 1000 people who loose their jobs, or have to take a drastic wage cut by their work being "farmed out" to the private sector for nothing more than "accounting" purposes.