by Robert Devet

25 managers at Community Services received layoff notices and will be competing for substantially fewer newly created positions.

(KJIPUKTUK), HALIFAX - 25 managers at the Department of Community Services have received layoff notices and will be competing for significantly fewer new positions.

It's not clear at this time how many managers will join the ranks of the unemployed.

CKBW, the South Shore radio station that broke the story, reports that just ten new jobs will be created. Lori Errington, spokesperson for the department, tells the Halifax Media Co-op that she believes the number of newly created positions is in the mid-teens.

Managers who are unsuccessful will be laid off, or will be offered packages if they are near retirement, Errington says.

“We are going from a regional model, where there are four regions, to a centralized model for a lot of things,” says Errington.

“That is not going to impact field workers, services that people receive day to day,” she says.

“It is about how we administer programs. We will have some service delivery positions added, and then a reduced number of management positions in the regions,” Errington explains.

Earlier we reported on the elimination of nine management positions at Community Services. Errington believes that the the most recent reports of layoffs include those positions.

42 full time positions that are currently vacant have also been eliminated.

The staff reduction comes on the heels of eleven layoff notices issued to Community Services workers in Guysborough and Barrington in January of this year, and the closure of its Sheet Harbour office around the same time.

The department has been tight-lipped about the restructuring effort. In particular groups that directly support or do advocacy work on behalf of people living in poverty have been kept in the dark.

This story will be updated when we receive additional information, expected later today.

Follow Robert Devet on Twitter @DevetRobert