1,000 council jobs facing the axe

By [bbanks]

The full scale of the financial woes faced by Lincolnshire County Council has been revealed.

Up to 1,000 jobs could be axed at the county's largest employer as the aftershocks of the recession hit the public sector.

The Echo reported in October on the threat of budget cuts from central Government – to pay for the risks taken by city bankers.

It was estimated that up to 850 jobs could go over three years. Now it is likely to be more like 1,000 over five years – a big bite out of the 6,228-strong workforce, excluding teachers.

Lincolnshire is one of the worst affected authorities in England, equalled only by seven other authorities including Nottinghamshire.

And it equates to finding £80m of savings from the council's £600m budget in each of the next three years.

This budget does not include schools.

Chief executive of the county council Tony McCardle said: "Due to an inevitable major downturn in public sector funding next year and onwards, Lincolnshire County Council is currently working to find more efficiency savings and move to new ways of working,"

For more, see Tuesday's Echo.