Network Rail is to axe hundreds of middle and senior managers' jobs over the next few weeks in a bid to save up to £30 million a year.
The company, responsible for railway track and signalling, said between 600 and 700 managers would be made compulsorily redundant within six weeks.
The job losses are part of 2,000 job cuts the company announced in the summer.
But the scale and speed of the redundancies, and the fact they will be compulsory, has shocked union officials.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association, which represents many of the managers, criticised Network Rail and urged the company to put its plans on hold.
"The cuts are misguided and ill thought-out," a spokesman said.
Network Rail said the cuts, involving 15% of its middle and senior management, would make annual savings of between £25 million and £30 million.
A source said that since rail privatisation the company, which took over from Railtrack, had been "top heavy"
Friday October 03, 2003
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