The Greater London Authority (GLA) has confirmed that 80 roles remain at risk as part of a cost-saving plan, with trade unions warning of 'serious damage' to public services across London. City Hall announced in March that it needed to save approximately £10 million through staffing cuts, with the first phase targeting £7 million by reducing 101 posts across the GLA, which employs over 1,500 people.
Current Status of Job Cuts
Initially, 189 staff members were placed at risk, but that number has now dropped to 80. So far, 39 at-risk staff have had applications accepted for voluntary redundancy, 32 have been 'assimilated' into the new structure, and 27 were redeployed into other GLA roles. The process is expected to conclude by early July.
Following consultation in April, the GLA accepted Unison's alternative proposal for 'ring fencing arrangements,' ensuring staff get priority for suitable alternative roles, along with a four-week trial period for redeployment. GLA officials also reinstated six posts initially marked for deletion, while another five could still be saved.
GLA Chief Officer Mary Harpley told the London Assembly GLA Oversight Committee on Wednesday, May 20: 'In making those changes in response to the consultation feedback, it means that we will not achieve the full £7.2 million savings we consulted on. I can't change the plan to delete posts and still save the same money. We will not know the final figure that we've achieved through this first consultation until July. I estimate that we will still save about £6.6 million from this round of savings and efficiencies. The shortfall on this phase means that we will have to add that into the remaining phase of consultation, which we will plan to do in the autumn.'
Union Criticises Scale of Cuts
Unison, which represents some GLA staff, delivered a scathing response, warning that key parts of the authority would be seriously understaffed. London regional secretary Sara Gorton said: 'Job losses on this scale at the Greater London Authority are alarming and disappointing. These proposals will leave key parts of the authority seriously understaffed, and that will cause serious damage to public services for communities across London. UNISON has made clear its strong opposition to these changes and will support the workers it represents who are affected.'
During the committee meeting, Green Party Assembly Member Caroline Russell asked Ms Harpley whether remaining staff would face an increased and potentially unsustainable workload. Ms Harpley responded: 'The new programs will have to be very efficient and effective in the way we plan to resource them...without putting unreasonable demands on teams that have been cut.' She confirmed there would be an 'extra layer of oversight' on affected teams to ensure people aren't overloaded.
Political Criticism
The scale of job cuts was first outlined in the 2026/27 GLA Budget, which stated that up to £10 million per year would need to be found through wider organisational savings to mitigate the loss of a 'parachute payment' designed to soften the blow of losing EU funding post-Brexit.
Conservative Assembly Member Alessandro Georgiou criticised Mayor Sadiq Khan for excluding his own office from the cuts. He said: 'Sadiq Khan's mayoral team has increased in size significantly since he became Mayor, yet his appointees are now immune from job cuts at City Hall. This is fundamentally unfair and will do nothing other than depress morale at City Hall.'
When questioned about this, Ms Harpley replied: 'I've been very clear with staff from the very beginning, we had agreed with the Mayor's Office where we would be seeking efficiencies from. We need to, in the light of financial constraints, make sure our resources are used as efficiently as possible. And that's what we developed the programme to do.'
