The British government has decided to shed over 4,000 army personnel, including high-ranking officers as part of its second tranche of redundancy programme announced to address the budget deficit, reported a British newspaper.

The Guardian stated that about 4,500 service personnel, including 10 brigadier posts, are expected to be scrapped, as well as a number of jobs at the level of lieutenant colonel.

The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force will also start to thin out their top tier. In all, about 20 high-ranking jobs will go in the second tranche of a sweeping programme that has affected all three services. About 3,000 jobs were lost in the first round of cuts last year.

The army is in a much more difficult position, the newspaper reported. The defence review, which was published in 2010, demanded 7,000 job losses, but that figure more than doubled last year as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) struggled to contain its ballooning budget.

The army, the newspaper said, has to shrink by 20,000 within eight years. The latest announcement is likely to reflect this pressure, with the army seeking to lose between 2,000 and 3,000 posts by the summer, and further redundancy rounds in the years ahead.  MoD argues that the Gurkha brigade has grown too big in recent years, and it is bound to face further cuts. This will infuriate campaigners who say the soldiers, who are recruited from Nepal, are an easy target. A “Save the Gurkha” petition has been launched by the same group, which fought successfully for the Gurkhas to have the same rights as other soldiers. Last year, 62 percent of those who left the armed forces were voluntary redundancies. But ministers accept the number of compulsory job losses will be higher this time—making it a much more painful process. “We can reduce the pressure on the need for redundancies by squeezing recruitment in some areas, which will help,” the Guardian quoted a source.

400 Gurkhas facing the axe

The British Defence Ministry’s latest redundancy programme will see around 400 Gurkhas losing their jobs in the British Army. The Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army has 3,740 soldiers.

In a statement on Tuesday, the British Embassy in Kathmandu said the servicemen affected by the decision would be provided with a comprehensive programme of resettlement into civilian life.

“As part of further work on defence restructuring, the British Army has announced today (17 January) the arrangements for a second phase of Army redundancies,” read an embassy release.

The Brigade of Gurkhas has been growing in size since modernisation in 2007, which also allowed them to serve for 22 years instead of 15. This meant that a Gurkha could, until 2007, serve a maximum of 15 years in the British army.  This reduction in numbers has therefore been anticipated for some time. “All affected personnel will be given 12 months’ notice and will be given a comprehensive programme of resettlement into civilian life and help with future employment,” read the statement.

According to the British media, around 140 Gurkhas lost their jobs in the first wave of MoD cuts last year.

Published on: 18 January 2012 | The Kathmandu Post