Lord Young's recent comments about the real effect on the UK economy of expected job losses, together with the suggestion that at Suffolk County Council 'only' 1000 people are likely to lose their jobs in the forthcoming refocussing of the organisation, have led to a good deal of criticism. Some commentators have argued that this criticism is an over-reaction, or even politically based, since, as was shown yesterday, the economy in the UK and beyond continues to recover, and in the overall scheme of things the job losses may not prove particularly significant.
However, except in the situation where an individual receives an exceptionally good redundancy payout, any forced loss of employment can be a disaster for the person involved. It is well known that indebtedness is often caused, not by profligacy, but by the impact of a life changing event that disturbs a family's economic arrangements. Such an event can be divorce, bereavement or the loss of a job. People losing their livelihood do not find much comfort in the idea that there may be a job available in some distant part of the country or even abroad.
At Babergh we are trying as far as possible to rely on voluntary redundancy and vacancy management to achieve the savings in staffing costs that we need to make to balance the budget. It is very likely, however, that the challenge of meeting the cost savings required will result in some forced job losses. I very much regret that this is the case.
