Network
Rail is to announce 2,500 job losses in an attempt to cut costs and improve
performance.
The
job cuts will be phased until 2006 and will be spread across the company
according to the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT).
The
company, which employs more than 14,000 workers, is aiming to reduce costs by
20 per cent – £1bn a year – following a huge increase in overhead costs
following the demise of Railtrack.
Iain
Coucher, Network Rail’s deputy chief executive and acting HR director, would
not confirm the numbers involved but admitted driving down costs and improving
performance are Network Rail’s main focus.
"Headcount
is something we’re looking at as part of our efficiency improvement programme
and we hope to release more details of our cost-saving plans early next
week", he said.
Bob
Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said job cuts on such a big scale would be
"obscene".
"It
is huge bonuses for the directors and P45s for the rest. We will resist any
compulsory redundancies, with industrial action if necessary," he said.
