Compulsory redundancies likely at council

Shropshire Council is looking to cut about 540 jobs

A council which is seeking to save £27m through staff cuts has had about 200 applications for voluntary redundancy, meaning other employees could face losing their jobs.

Shropshire Council is looking to make cuts equivalent to about 540 full time posts.

It had hoped the majority of the cuts could be made through voluntary redundancy and the removal of vacant posts.

Chief Finance Officer James Walton told a meeting this week: “There are very likely to be some compulsory redundancies."

He said about 90 people had been accepted for voluntary redundancy so far and another 110 were waiting to hear.

Mr Walton said there would also be cuts to spending on contractors and Chief Executive Andy Begley said senior management was being restructured.

In 2023 the council's full-time equivalent headcount was 4,900.

Council leader Lesley Picton added: “We are doing everything we can to mitigate the number of compulsory redundancies.”

The authority is under pressure to save £62.5m from its budget this financial year.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.