Birmingham looks to make 600 council employees redundant

Birmingham City Council has announced it is to consult on plans to axe 600 jobs.

A spokesperson for the financially beleaguered council said: “We anticipate that (subject to consultation) up to 600 posts may be declared redundant across the council."

The figure does not include posts that have been deleted through organisational re-design that were already vacant, nor does it include vacancies, according to the spokesperson.

The statement added: “We understand that this news will be unsettling, and want to reassure you that we are here to support you through this process.

“We will now start formal consultation with our corporate trade union representatives and follow these with directorate collective consultation meetings. These consultation meetings with trade unions will continue to take place regularly.”

Birmingham issued a section 114 notice in September 2023 due to overwhelming financial liabilities resulting principally from equal pay claims that totalled about £760m. The council also reported an in-year budget gap of £87m.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has since decided to send six commissioners into the council with powers over governance, finance and recruitment as part of an intervention programme set to last five years.

A series of reports have been published on the circumstances at Birmingham since it issued its first section 114 notice, including a report from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny that warned low capacity across the council's legal services is a “significant risk” factor for organisational stability and improvement.

Describing Birmingham's legal services, the report said: “There is little capacity, which presents a significant risk factor for organisational stability and improvement, particularly in the face of the Council’s substantial and complex work around equal pay”.

Details on which departments will see staff cuts at Birmingham are not yet known.

Adam Carey