Essex county council to cut 275 jobs to 'Get in shape for challenging times'

AS part of the ongoing transformation at Essex County Council (ECC), the authority has announced it is looking at reducing the number of internal layers of management. The reduction in managerial posts will be met through retirement, normal staff turn-ov

AS part of the ongoing transformation at Essex County Council (ECC), the authority has announced it is looking at reducing the number of internal layers of management.

The reduction in managerial posts will be met through retirement, normal staff turn-over, voluntary redundancy and not filling existing vacancies.

The authority expects that up to 275 line-manager positions will be removed as part of the process.

Staff employed by schools will not be affected and front-line services will not be affected.

The figure represents 2.5 per cent of the organisation's core workforce of 10,900 employees or 16.5 per cent of ECC's 1648 line mangers.

Public sector unions are being fully consulted as part of the process.

Cabinet member for central services, Cllr Derrick Louis, said: "Essex County Council is no different to any other organisation that needs to get into shape if it is going to cope with these challenging economic times.

"We have also said that we must change and transform ourselves from within so that we can maintain and protect key front-line services.

"That is why the organisation has taken a proactive approach to reducing layers of management that have built up over time to help create a leaner structure. This will bring much quicker and sharper decision-making and will ultimately lead to enhanced local services and better value for money for Essex residents".