Sutton Council’s chief executive has warned his staff, and the people of Sutton, tough times are ahead.

The authority is making large-scale budget cuts over the next few years to deal with a reduction in central Government funding.

Staffing levels have already dropped from 2,095 in 2010 to 1,600, and it is predicted by 2019 the number could be as low as 500.

The council will, later this year, launch its People Plan which will look at how this change can be managed, such as the transfer of staff to private contractors brought in to carry out services, and the merging of operations with neighbouring authorities.

Human resources and legal services are already shared with neighbouring councils.

ICT support in schools is set to be provided externally through the establishment of a venture set up by council employed staff.

Niall Bolger, chief executive of Sutton Council since 2010, said: “I cannot change the fact that we are having to go through the biggest change in the council’s history.

“Unprecedented Government cuts to our budgets mean we have to save £72m from our annual budget by 2019, £40m of which is still to go. That means we have to significantly reduce the size of the council and that leads to uncertainty among our staff, many of whom have worked here for years.

“We face hard decisions in the same way we face hard decisions about the future of services in the borough.

“It is important that we listen to our staff as these changes take effect so we are holding three independent surveys over the next 12 months to see if there is any additional support that they need.”

Mr Bolger was speaking after the results of a Unison-conducted staff survey featured in the Sutton Guardian suggested staff were experiencing bullying within the council.

Mr Bolger said he is keen to work with Unison and robust procedures are in place to deal with bullying He said: “Any allegation of bullying is taken extremely seriously. It is very important people report it and that is why we run a Dignity at Work programme which includes an independent helpline and a procedure for dealing with any complaints.

“We have more than a dozen training courses and awareness days. They include courses on how to manage well, handle conflict resolution and mediation, ACAS training for investigations into bullying and harassment and more personal support for staff on issues including managing mental health and wellbeing, stress management and resilience training.”

Job security uncertainty is likely to have been further exacerbated by the council’s decision to renegotiate contracts with workers in an effort to bring in performance-related pay.

The change, which could take place by April 2016, would see staff given targets and regular appraisals throughout the year, with pay rises based on performance.