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Day of the long knives at City Hall as Boris axes 120 jobs
Katharine Barney and Danny Brierley24.03.09
CITY Hall staff today told of a "climate of fear" as up to 120 positions were cut as a result of Boris Johnson's restructuring plans.
The Mayor wants to save about £7.5million from an £80million budget by the cuts, many of them middle managers earning about £40,000.
The main cuts are expected to be among administration staff. Short-term contracts will not be renewed.
Employees were being told about plans to "streamline" the organisation in a series of meetings led by chief executive of the Greater London Authority, Leo Boland.
One woman, who had been in the first meeting, said the environment team, London stakeholders team, which co-ordinated the response to the July bombings, and the equalities team had been told none of their jobs was safe.
She said the environment department would be "very slimmed down and "the number of people monitoring climate change and air quality would be almost non-existent".
After the first meeting ended at 11am today a member of staff said: "People are angry about what is being done. It could not have come at a worse time. I understand the need to save money but think that sometimes the effect it has on people's lives gets forgotten." Another worker described the atmosphere inside City Hall as "terrible", saying there was a "climate of fear". Some staff suspected the cuts were a politically-motivated attempt to cut back on what one worker described as the "fun and games" of Ken Livingstone's administration.
One woman who did not want to be named told the Standard today: "It appears as though they are just trying to get rid of the people who worked on Ken's pet projects on very good salaries. They are going to get rid of middle managers, line managers and heads of services."
A spokeswoman for the Mayor said: "In line with his manifesto commitment, the Mayor set out to create a more efficient, effective operation that is better focused on his political priorities."
The main structural changes include cutting the number of departments or "directorates" from six to four.
The new departments will be:
●Resources, led by finance director Martin Clarke.
●External Affairs, headed by Guto Harri, director of communications.
●Communities and Intelligence which will receive policy advice from Kit Malthouse, deputy mayor for policing.
●Development and Environment, advised by Sir Simon Milton, deputy mayor for planning and policy.
Linda Perks, Unison regional secretary, said: "The job cuts are shocking. Londoners will be the ones losing out, as a team of a few hundred workers will struggle to serve seven million people."
Reader views (25)
I seriously hope the HR department is driven out of City Hall. They have stood by and allowed employees from the 8th floor down to be bullied as they were too scared to confront politicians and managers. I would seriously encourage the tax paying public to request via FOI how much has been paid to disgruntled employees who were bullied and took action against the organisation - silencing ex employees costs the tax payer greatly. It is clear that for such a small organisation the GLA suffered from a disproportionate amount of employees taking action. I would also question the huge number of middle managers who are highly paid NOT to manage as they are far to scared to question anything - but then wouldn't you on approx 70k per year. The GLA is fast becoming a white elephant
- P, London
"People are amgry about what is being done" - doh, join the real world, there's a recession on AND generally speaking middle management do very little apart from create pay slips.
- Marianne, SW France
Well as long as all those who agree with this move promise not to complain when London starts to fall apart.
The introduction of BOJO's motorbikes in bus lanes has included dangerous signs at the elephant & castle which I reported and have now been corrected, while last week I was on a bus in a contra-flow bus lane near New Cross when a mootorbike entered the lane travelling towards the bus!!
As staff are cut work will not be done properly and chaos will ensure but I believe it was always on the tory secret agenda just to demolish Kens empire in the unlikely circumstances that Boris got elected, and its beginning to look like I was right.
So dont complain and whatever you do dont blink!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Cap, London - As a rule of thumb, the cost of employing someone is about 1.5 times the salary the person actually receives. This might explain the difference you've spotted.
Anyway - good. I'm glad this particular belt is being tightened. The responses from affected staff seem as vapid and irrelevant as the positions from which they should be removed.
- Roy, London, UK
Of course Boris doesnt want to monitor air quality and pollution in london! He has scrapped the congestion charge on gas guzzlers, when monitoring the congestion charge shows it has had the effect of helping stop carbon emissions and reducing respiratory diseases - why would he want us to see the evidence of his catastrophic policies on the environment? - it seems that only those who drive chelsea tractors can have priveleges and mayoral support in Johnson's London.
- Robby, Harrow, London
I'm sure Ken will be returned in 2012 when the mayoral election will lack both the Brown and Ian Blair factors.
- Jim, Golders Green, UK
About time too.
- Michael Corby, London UK
Welcome. Now they have to join us out here in the real world.
- Dene Wood, Essex
Well done Mayor Johnson, I hope that this is the beginning of a move into small government and accountability. Tax payers money has been criminally squandered for too long.
- Vini, London
Sorry for the people concerned but its about time local Government cut its cloth and even more important get efficiency into the operation. Private business has to do it . How about every borough , council starts the same operation. Its not just about now its for the future as well
- Peter French, Orihuela Costa Spain
The folks at City Hall won't be getting much sympathy from non-ops staff at London Underground; there are hundreds of us at risk of losing our jobs too. Tim O'Toole has always focused on the so-called 'big picture', not on ensuring that the Tube was a lean and efficient organisation. It's reality-check time, not that T O'T will be bothered as he heads back to the USA next month.
- Tube Worker, Sussex, UK
There are still too many.
- Steveo, London NW1
not renewing short term contracts is not job cutting anyway. contractors are not permanent head count, and in these tough times are always going to be in the firing line.
plus there is also the matter of Ken's bloated bureaucracy...
- Scott, LONDON
"Why not back to the original 400?"
Because the Olympics require a substantial staff increase - and 2012 wasn't on the agenda when "the original 400" were appointed.
- Michael, London
Maybe the staff at City Hall should try looking at the situation from another perspective: with gratitude that they've been the recipients of a very lucrative job creation scheme for the past 9 years.
- Jimmy, Fulham
i would guess that the place was top heavy with ken's cronies doing non jobs for big bucks.
the wind of change is blowing and not too soon.
one just hopes that bojo doesn't prove to have feet of clay and be exposed for similier flaws and failings at some later date. only time will tell, but for now one must remain optomistic.
- M.O'Brien, london.uk
Under Ken the GLA became a bloated bureaucracy - as with all Labour run organisations. Sorry to those who lose their jobs but in many cases they have less right to them than those who have lost positions in the private sector. Lets get back to small government and let tax payers keep what little money they have for their own uses.
- Simon, london
It's a dreadful time to lose your job and trying to find another. This "re-organising" happens whenever a new leader comes in to take over from a previous one - just look at the NHS whenever a new government is elected for example. New jobs were created at City Hall under a previous administration who thought the roles were essential to their beliefs. The new chief removes those they do not want or need and creates new ones aimed at delivering key pledges.
The same thing will happen when Boris Johnson is replaced.
Can anyone tell me of an organisation that will happily keep jobs open if the business doesn't need them?
It's very rough for those about to lose their jobs - they have my sympathies.
- Worker, London
Great stuff Boris. About time you got rid of Ken's layabouts. Now cut a few more - why should the public sector be immune from the recession.
- Keith Price, Leaving the sinking ship England
London has become one of the most vibrant cities in the world since 2000. If not the most vibrant. The GLA input has been immense. The GLA needs to take a strategic view of London especially with 2012 on its way. No one else will. We need a counterweight to the carping of shortsighted, agenda driven London Boroughs (of all hues). Leading world city, 7 million people, supported by not enough staff. Boris is charming, Boris is funny but he is strategically clueless. He is 'a disaster in sheeps clothing.'
- Dave, London
To save so little why doesn't Boris just stop involving his staff in the expense of looking into stupid ideas like building another airport in the Thames estuary?
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford England
It's a tragedy for London government and our city that jobs are being cut at city hall. Whilst the number of jobs has risen since the Gla was set up so has it's valuable role.
- Emma, London
Aside from the fact that Boris decided to announce this to the Standard before his own staff, the article clearly says that the staff that are likely to go will be the administrators (almost always the lowest paid), those on fixed term contracts (who would probably have been going anyway) and staff that have already left.
Staying in place will be all of the Mayor's team including those 'advisors' mentioned above and the actual directors, assistant directors and heads of service - most of whom are paid well over £80k.
- Liberal And Proud, London, UK
Why not back to the original 400? Go on Boris, halve the number of people on your staff; they are a waste of tax payers' money.
- Robin, London
£7,500,000 divided by 100 comes to £75,000 each.
How can I get a job in the City Hall ???
- Cap, london
