THE union working with what is believed to be more than 100 Cornwall Council employees who face losing their jobs has said the announcement so close to Christmas is a “devastating blow”.

The trade union representing the affected employees, Unison, has blamed central government for its “chronic underfunding” of the local authority.

It was revealed that the job losses have been announced in a bid to save £48.6-million as part of the draft revenue budget for 2025/26, which was approved by the local authority’s Conservative Cabinet on November 13.

The council says it is on a financial precipice and has to make cuts and savings across the board to stave off going bankrupt like other local authorities such as Birmingham City Council.

Cornwall Council’s deputy leader and head of finances David Harris has continually written to both Conservative and Labour governments asking for fairer funding towards social care, children’s services and housing the homeless – the areas having the biggest impact on the council’s coffers.

Affected staff will undergo a 45-day formal consultation with five days extra for the Christmas break. The redundancy consultation will be completed by April 1, 2025.

Unison, the public service union, says the council is hoping to make the majority of the job cuts through a voluntary redundancy process, but it’s likely that there will be some compulsory redundancies. Internal consultation has started this week and Unison is supporting members throughout.

Emily Gallagher, regional organiser at Unison South West, said: “Announcing redundancies so close to Christmas is a devastating blow to Cornwall Council staff and their families. The festive period should be a time of celebration and security, but instead many are now facing deep uncertainty about their futures.

“The root cause of these redundancies lies in the chronic underfunding of local government by central government. It’s unacceptable that dedicated public service workers, who keep our communities running, are left to pay the price for a funding shortfall they did not create.

“Unison will stand firmly by our members throughout this process. We are committed to working with Cornwall Council to prioritise voluntary measures over compulsory redundancies and to minimise the impact on staff wherever possible. Protecting jobs and safeguarding the vital services that the people of Cornwall depend on will remain our top priority.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “Cornwall Council, like local authorities across the country, faces financial challenges, and is having to make choices that are lawful, deliverable but in no way desirable to produce a balanced budget for 2025/26.

“Every effort has been made to minimise the impact on employees but sadly, this difficult process does mean a small percentage of jobs may be at risk within the organisation. Where possible we are restricting external recruitment, and will look at redeploying staff in suitable roles before anyone has to leave the organisation through redundancy.

“Those staff in affected roles are being supported through the process and we are engaging with the trade unions.”