Rishi Sunak to cut thousands of jobs in civil services, says report

Chancellor of the Exch­equer Rishi Sunak plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs within the UK civil service over the next three years, the Fina­n­cial Times reported on Saturday. 

The Treasury is expected to set parameters for the reductions in early 2022, the newspaper reported, citing people briefed on the plans. The reductions are meant to save government budgets 5% over the next three years. 

The cuts may undermine Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s effort to spread civil servant positions to left-behind areas, trade unions warned. The current government program envisioned 22,000 roles being moved from London by 2030, according to the FDA union. While Sunak’s plan implies a loss of 49,000 positions, the result is likely to be less severe because some jobs are exempt.