27/01/2012

MoD 'To Accelerate 3,000 Civilian Job Cuts'

The MoD is to cut its civilian staff by some 3,000 because of budget cuts.

The military said it had already planned to shed 32,000 civilian posts by 2020, of which 25,000 were to go by 2015.

However, the BBC said an extra 3,000 of the total will now also go by 2015.

Responding to the reports Labour's Shadow Defence Minister Kevan Jones said: “The Government have made premature and ill judged claims of success. These additional cuts are a testament to the failure of the defence review and the fact there are new unfunded liabilities on the balance sheet.

"We must understand the full impact on the MoD of these job losses. The Government must explain how they are dealing with the loss of such capacity.”

Ministers have accelerated the job losses because of a shortfall in the MoD's budget, believed to be £2-3bn.

(DW)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

19 August 2013
Whitehall War Office To Be Sold
A Ministry of Defence War Office building in Whitehall is to be sold to support "Defence priorities," it has been announced. The Old War Office was built in 1902 for the Imperial General Staff and was a focal point throughout the major conflicts of the 20th century. It housed numerous secretaries of state, including Winston Churchill.
23 May 2003
War hero subject of second MoD probe
It has emerged today that Colonel Tim Collins, the British Army commander who won international plaudits for his moving pre-battle speech in Iraq, is the subject of a second MoD probe. The second inquiry surrounds the apparent suicide of an 18-year-old private soldier at Drumaad barracks, Co Armagh in Northern Ireland, two years ago.
23 January 2014
MoD Announce Last Round Of Army Job Cuts
The Ministry of Defence has announced the fourth and final round of defence cuts, with a final 1,400 soldiers to be made redundant. The cuts started in 2010 in an effort to reduce the number of full-time soldiers from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2017. While cutting regulars, the MoD are also aiming to increase the number of reservists.
08 October 2009
Tories To Cut MoD Costs By Quarter
The Conservatives will ask civil servants to draw up plans to slash Ministry of Defence (MoD) costs by 25% in order to better focus resources on the front line. The savings will be made in bureaucracy with the Tories insisting there will not be a cut in the defence budget and that there are no plans to reduce the number of military personnel.
06 February 2014
Babcock Marine Workers To Strike For The First Time In 42 Years
Eight hundred Clyde based workers at Babcock Marine will strike for the first time in 42 years over a pay dispute which could have significant implications for the running of the nuclear naval and armaments sites at Faslane and Coulport in Scotland.