MORE than one quarter of the district council’s workforce has been shed over a two-year period, new statistics show.

Data released by the GMB Union reveal staff numbers at St Albans district council (SADC) have fallen from 483 to 349 within the last two years.

That is a total reduction of nearly 28 per cent from the first quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2012.

But the council said the figures reflected the large number of vacancies they had two years ago which meant the number of people in filled posts actually totalled 373.

According to data, which they recorded in July this year, they had 387 employees and a total of 12 vacancies.

SADC was forced to reduce its budget by �1.8 million last year and a further �1.7 million this year due to a reduction in government grants.

When the budget cuts were announced SADC predicted it would have to cut its workforce by 25 per cent, which could be done through the removal of vacant posts, non-renewal of short-term contracts, early retirement, voluntary redundancies and some compulsory redundancies.

A spokesman for the council said: “The actions taken by the council included a complete restructure to focus available funding on front line services and council priorities.”