Union warns of 'jobs slaughter' facing workers

UNIONS last night warned of an impending "jobs slaughter" as a result of government cuts, after hundreds of posts were axed in the wake of the huge clampdown on public spending.

Redundancies announced yesterday included 287 at the government's COI communications agency - 40 per cent of its staff - and 325 at leading defence firm QinetiQ, which supplies the Ministry of Defence.

Up to 300 jobs will be cut at the Business Department by the end of September and unions are braced for further announcements in the coming days of redundancies in other government departments.

A senior official at the Prospect union said: "The pain is being felt by professional and admin grades and in private firms as much as in the public sector."

The official added: "The really bad news is that this is just a foretaste of what is to come - people just don't realise the scale of the jobs slaughter that is about to descend on them."

The COI (Central Office of Information), which distributes publicity, information and other communications, said the government's freeze on non-essential advertising and marketing had resulted in "significantly" reduced work volumes.