A minimum of 50 jobs will go by next June, including some management positions.

It is hoped that most of the cuts will occur through natural attrition, but it is also believed there are plans to scrap positions that are presently vacant.

The move has raised the ire of unions, which met with senior management on Tuesday to discuss 15 job losses from the civil operations division.

The unions are opposed to the cuts and have not ruled out industrial action.

Divisional managers have been told of the downsizing and will soon be given quotas.

A council spokeswoman yesterday ruled out forced redundancies.

"The reduction in labour force will be achieved through natural attrition ... This is part of our ongoing work to improve council's financial position," she said.

The council is also wielding the axe among senior management, putting in a new team aimed at distancing itself from the previous administration.

General manager David Farmer began reshaping the management team more than seven months ago, before the Independent Commission Against Corruption hearings began.

In the final months of 2007, it is believed Mr Farmer spoke to a number of senior staff, some of whom did not have their contracts renewed.

At the time, the Mercury reported that of the 21 managers photographed for the 2005-06 annual report, only 11 remained at the council.

Only last week, two of the council's three most senior managers - Sue Baker-Finch and Peter Kofod - had to reapply for their positions.

The United Services Union said the council should search for more creative ways to cut expenses.

The staff's enterprise bargaining agreement was up for renegotiation this year, but senior management decided to roll over the existing agreement for another year.

Union spokesman Scott Peterson said reducing staff was "the easy option".

"There is a lot of uncertainty. Management is now communicating their plans better, so employees know where they stand ... but people still have concerns about whether they will or won't have a job," he said.