iStockThe number of staff members who took voluntary redundancy or early retirement has cost Glasgow City Council more than £11.7 million since 2024.
A freedom of information (FOI) request submitted to the local authority reveals that in 2024/25 there were 106 voluntary redundancies or early retirements, while there have been four so far in 2025/26.
This has cost the council £11.4m and more than £389,000 for each year, respectively, although the figures relating to teaching staff were unavailable.
In March this year it was confirmed that Glasgow City Council staff employed around 20,719 staff compared to 20,890 the previous year.
The council’s workforce includes both full-time and part-time employees with a significant portion of the staff, around 6,000, working within the Health and Social Care Partnership.
Glasgow’s workforce represents about 10% of the total local government workforce in Scotland.
The council says that as with most employers, voluntary redundancy and early retirement are generally used as a means of reducing the staff headcount and making a saving.
There is an up-front cost, but the council’s policy requires service reform proposals to generate a saving within a maximum of a two year period with the savings continuing in subsequent years.
A spokesman said: “Early retirement and voluntary redundancy are two ways of reducing head count and making medium and long-term savings.
“The council’s policy on early retirement and voluntary redundancy – and the terms available to those leaving – was agreed by elected members.
“Although there is usually an initial cost, that policy demands that departures deliver a permanent cash saving to the public purse within two years.
“Exits – and the up-front costs and long-term savings associated with them – are regularly reported to scrutiny committees.”
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