Bristol mayor Marvin Rees to cut 1,000 council jobs Published duration 22 August 2016

image caption Mayor Marvin Rees said he has "inherited a huge financial challenge"

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees has announced plans to cut 1,000 city council jobs in a bid to save £29m by next April.

Mr Rees who was elected in May is attempting to plug a £60m hole in the authority's budget by April 2020.

A city council spokesman said it would be allowing applications for voluntary severance from "any council staff".

Unison said the council's "dire financial situation" was "not the fault of public service workers who've gotten a tough deal for years now".

Mr Rees said he had inherited a "huge financial challenge" and could not "close the [savings] gap without reducing the number of jobs at the council".

The authority - which currently has around 6,970 employees - will launch a scheme which lets staff in full time positions apply for voluntary severance later this week.

"This scheme is about giving people the option to leave voluntarily. We will support staff as best we can throughout this difficult time," Mr Rees added.

Steve Crawshaw from Unison said "real political leadership" was needed from the mayor.

"Firstly to decide what kind of public services he wants given the lack of money and second, to unite with the leaders of other core cities and say to [the prime minister] give us the funding we need, or we risk failing our residents," he said.

The council has informed staff and trade unions and launched a period of formal consultation.