Dundee City Council has pledged compulsory redundancies will remain a “last resort”, as it announced the first round of job cuts.
Posts are expected to go throughout the local authority over the next three years, as it bids to make enforced savings of “at least” £28 million.
The first 45 full-time posts to be cut were announced on Friday when council administration leader Ken Guild unveiled £1.4 million of savings.
It is hoped the reduction in staffing level scan be achieved through voluntary early retirement and redundancy but enforced job losses cannot be entirely ruled out.
The first “major changes” announced will affect street cleaning operations and maintenance of open spaces and will aim to modernise both.
Councillors from all parties will be asked to back the measures at a committee meeting on Monday December 7.LISTEN: Administration leader Ken Guild outlines the plans
The council’s street cleaning regime is ripe for overhaul, according to Mr Guild, who believes significant savings can be made while retaining a high level of service.
The procedures were introduced in the 1990s and have delivered some of the country’s highest standards of cleanliness and litter picking.
They have, however, also ensured Dundee City Council is the third-highest spender on street cleaning among Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
Where some streets can currently be cleaned three times a day, irrespective of their cleanliness, the council will instead move to a policy that focuses attention on how clean areas are, rather than how often they are swept.
The second key area of change will be that of open space management and its maintenance beginning with investment of £2.6 million on improvement projects in places like parks and open spaces, road and footpath verges.
Mr Guild said: “There is no getting away from the fact that we are having to make very tough decisions that will mean changing the ways that we deliver services across Dundee.
“Although the first driver is the financial constraint, there is room there for some creative thinking and changes that can be beneficial.”
Mr Guild accepted that job losses are difficult but said the council is working closely with the unions to ensure there are no surprises.
“We will ensure that our workforce are not in the dark. They will not suddenly get a hammer blow.
“Our employees are not daft. They know exactly what sort of financial climate we are living in and they have a pretty realistic view of what the council can and cannot do.”