MoD 'fast-tracks' civilian job losses

Friday, 3 June 2011 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

The number of planned redundancies among civilian staff at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is set to double.

The department plans to cut its civilian support staff by 25,000 over a four-year period, with just 4,000 jobs set to go this year.

Now a greater-than-expected demand for redundancy means it will cut 8,000, prompting fears from some quarters that the armed forces could suffer as a result, the Guardian newspaper reported.

Officials said the work would not "adversely affect the work of the department", but Prospect union national secretary Steve Jary told the Guardian that the MoD had succumbed to "short-termism gone mad".

"A few weeks ago, the MoD ruled out any increase on the 4,000 figure this year, saying it would be too risky to let more staff go in the current operational climate," he said.

"Suddenly, it is seized with panic and doubles the scale of job losses before it has even got approval from the Treasury to pay the redundancy bills.

"This is indicative of a department that has lost its ability to cope with the financial pressures it is facing."

Figures released yesterday showed falling numbers at the MoD are likely to become a trend. Armed forces recruits were 40% down in 2010/11 compared to the year before.

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• foreign policy