STAFF numbers at Hertfordshire County Council will be slashed by 10%, following the Spending Review announcements by the government last week.

George Osborne last week outlined in the announcements that local authorities would see a decrease of 7.1% annual funding over the next four years.

The job cuts at Herts County Council will occur over the next three years, to meet the council’s saving target of �150 million.

“We are in difficult financial times and Hertfordshire County Council, along with the rest of the public sector, faces some tough choices,” said a county council spokesman.

“With staffing making up such a large percentage of our costs, it would not have been possible to meet our savings target and prioritise frontline services without reducing the number of employees,”

Some employees aged 55 and over have been offered early retirement to keep the number of redundancies down to a minimum.

And the council is considering the option for people to apply for voluntary redundancy.

“We will be helping those affected to find alternative employment and are developing a range of support packages to help people who are concerned about redeployment or redundancy,” added the spokesman.