Cornwall Council is expecting to axe 280 staff over the next five months as it attempts to make £196m of savings by 2018.
The redundancies will save £31m, it said, and follow a management shake up that has reduced the number of directorates from six to three and cut eight heads of service.
Tony Dowling, GMB organiser, described the announcement as ‘another blow for the county’. He said discussions with the council would continue into next week ‘and no doubt will continue beyond that point as austerity continues to bite’.
He added: ‘Each job in Cornwall is of great value to the person, and to the economy and the loss of local authority jobs will impact on many businesses in the local communities.
‘As the Tory/Liberal Government lays claim to the success of a growing UK economy, for the people of Cornwall, their communities and business these job losses due to imposed budget cuts are another serious blow. The local authority role is in supporting the infrastructure of the county and as its funds and staffing reduce, services will suffer.’