Council identifies staff to leave

The local authority is trying to find almost �50m of savings

Aberdeen council managers have been told to find staff who could be offered voluntary redundancy or early retirement, BBC Scotland has learned.

The jobs move came as the local authority has been trying to find almost �50m of savings.

A briefing document sent to managers at the council stated the "seriousness of the situation should not be underestimated".

It said the local authority continued to face "difficult challenges".

An all-party leadership board was set up in the wake of a critical report from the Accounts Commission earlier this year, which said Aberdeen City Council faced "extremely serious" challenges.

Coming weeks

Heads of service will learn shortly how many redundancies are required, amid a drive by the council to save �49.7m.

Staff identified will be written to by their director and asked if they want to apply for early retirement or voluntary redundancy.

It is understood the process, expected to happen in the next few weeks, will not apply to teaching staff.

It had been widely known that �27m of cutbacks were needed, but a report by the council's chief accountant showed the forecast had risen to almost double that figure.

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