Thirty one posts look set to go within the council’s ferry service, after proposed cuts totalling £3.1million were agreed by the full council on Monday.
Tucked away in an appendix that was not available for public viewing and was not discussed at the meeting, the figure only came to light on Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking to The Shetland Times, the director of infrastructure services Phil Crossland said the loss of posts would be “service wide”.
“It will be 31 posts across the whole of the ferry service” he said. “We will look to be downsizing in line with our policies, which is to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible.
“In the first instance we’ll be looking to end temporary contracts and [cut posts] through voluntary severance means. Yesterday’s decision effectively means we’re now into a 12-week formal consultation with staff and unions.”
More details will follow.