BOSSES at Derby City Council have warned redundancies are likely to continue beyond the 350 job losses they announced last night.
The latest exodus of staff, which will take place over the next 16 months, will send the total number of redundancies made by the authority over a three-year period soaring above 1,000.
The Labour-run authority has blamed "unfair" Government cuts for the continuing axing of jobs.
Staff have been warned they may have to reapply for their positions as part of the cull, while leader Paul Bayliss admitted services would "undoubtedly" be hit.
This latest jobs blow comes as the council sets out its budget proposals for the next three years. The council has warned of other cost-cutting measures and has already said charges will be introduced to collect brown bins.
City council chief executive Adam Wilkinson last night warned the axing of the equivalent of 350 full-time posts will only help the council achieve the £20 million worth savings it has identified for 2013/14.
He said another £43 million would have to be saved by April 2016, meaning more job cuts were "likely", and said staff who agree to voluntary redundancy could leave the council as early as the end of the year.
Roger Kershaw, strategic director of resources, said the council was being forced to save £63 million over the next three financial years – an amount he described as "phenomenal".
It is a similar amount to that which the authority has already slashed from its budget since 2009-10.
The cutbacks mean the council's overall budget will sink to below £200 million within three years.
Those whose jobs are now at risk were told last night.
Mr Bayliss said he deeply regretted the job cuts and insisted his hands were tied.
He said: "This isn't a budget we would set naturally ourselves. It is a budget that has been shaped by Government cuts being too deep and too fast.
"I did not enter politics to get rid of people's jobs.
"There has been a lot of argument and, dare I say, blood on the carpet over the setting of this budget.
"I have been a councillor since 1996 and these are the deepest cuts I have seen since then. Even under the Thatcher years, the cuts weren't as deep as this."
Mr Bayliss said the budget proposals were not final and invited public feedback.
The council would have a clearer indication of the savings it must make when the Government announced the outcome of its latest comprehensive spending review in the coming weeks.
Mr Kershaw said: "There's a huge amount of unprecedented change that the council is being exposed to.
"It makes this budget-setting process one of the most challenging we've ever faced.
"When people come to us with their concerns, of course we are going to try to address them, although, with the resources that are available to us, that task will be virtually impossible. The future of the council is going to be extremely trying given the amount of money we are losing over the next few years."
Chief executive Adam Wilkinson said there were some positive aspects to the draft budget. He said: "There aren't any library closures or leisure centre closures. It's not a crisis. The situation has been within our sights for the past three years and we are managing it."
Councillor Sarah Russell, cabinet member for business, finance and democracy, added: "We have protected things people have said they want protecting."
The news of the job cuts comes as Derby North MP Chris Williamson prepares to hand over a petition in the House of Commons demanding a better deal for the city.
Almost 12,000 people have signed the Fair Deal for Derby petition, which will be delivered at the end of parliamentary proceedings today.
It calls on the Government to reduce the amount of cuts made to the city council.
