Buckinghamshire County Council to cut 400 jobs – HR jobs at risk

HR jobs will be among 400 cut by a local authority, a senior official has revealed.

Earlier this week, Buckinghamshire County Council unveiled a plan to save £22m a year by March 2012 by reducing back office managers and support staff.

Gill Hibberd, the council’s corporate director, people and policy, said the planned changes would involve “some” HR jobs being lost.

“The changes will start this year and they may impact the HR department, but it’s three-year programme and there will be many projects” Hibbert told Personnel Today.

“We’re looking at a shared services programme with other district councils and local emergency services, but the decisions haven’t been made yet.”

“We have to find more efficient ways to deliver services and look into every corner of the organisation and challenge ourselves to see if there’s a better way of delivering services,” she said.

Hibberd also said that the council would move employees in order to free up nearly 40% of office space, saving £6m and numerous jobs in the process.

Last year, a survey by commercial property agent DTZ found 90% of local authorities owned buildings more than two decades old, and would likely begin selling off or upgrading to cheaper and more energy-efficient workplaces.

On Monday, Gordon Brown unveiled a £500m plan to tackle unemployment by offering extra funding for training places to help unemployed people get new skills to maximise their chances of getting jobs.