EMPLOYEES at Essex County Council are bracing themselves for one-in-three job losses among the 10,000 staff.

Union Unison says nothing has put to rest employees' anxiety about the potential effects of government grant cuts of up to 40 per cent on jobs this autumn – despite a meeting this week with personnel chiefs, including HR head Kier Lynch.

"We fear the worst and staff are all very nervous for their jobs in this climate," said Sue Gainey for the union.

"We are not getting enough information quickly enough.

"I am very worried they are going to want an eventual 3,000 job losses."

The council employs 30,000 people in total, the majority in education, which will not be affected by the central Government grant.

The authority is trying to save £300 million in "efficiencies", something chiefs reckon can be achieved without cutting frontline services.

A countywide consultation into how the public thinks the council should be spending its annual £1.5 billion budget also ends tomorrow (Friday).

Sue Gainey also claimed workers were worried by the lack of information regarding the safety of their jobs, even though the Government announcement is just weeks away.

She added: "At the meeting, we were told that under transformation – that's the project already in hand to save £300 million – jobs are likely to go in IT over six years, with others in e-payroll and the youth employment service Connexions at risk.

"But that all comes outside the government announcement and we had no information on that because the council has not been given a breakdown, and is unlikely to have one before the government review is published in the autumn.

"But if they say Essex has got to lose 25 to 40 per cent of its grant income, even settling on 30 per cent we remain pessimistic about the job situation."

Council leader Peter Martin was unavailable for comment, but a spokesman said: "As part of Essex County Council Customer First Transformation programme, there are a number of projects contributing to our savings target.It is too early to comment on any specific workforce implications at this stage and our policy is to consult with staff and their representative in the first instance.