Hundreds of jobs are to go at the biggest employer in Powys over the next five years in a bid to cut costs and improve services it has been revealed.

Powys County Council is set to shed five per cent of its 8,000-strong workforce in a bid to help save £16 million – but said no employee would be forced to leave.

The council said it would be doing its best to avoid compulsory redundancies and the jobs would go through natural wastage over the next five years.

Jeremy Paterson, council chief executive, said: “We need to be looking at ways to cut costs and improve services and we have to make sure we protect our frontline services.

“We will be looking to reduce the council’s staffing levels over the next five years and this will be done by people taking retirement and by not filling vacant posts, but obviously some posts may undoubtedly have to be refilled.

“We can’t rule out redundancies though but I can assure people that the council is not looking at making mass redundancies.”

He said the five-year timescale would mean the council had time to plan and manage the workforce without it affecting frontline services.

Mr Paterson added: “The council can’t keep running like it has been and changes are going to have to be made to modernise our services and save money.

“While our budget is de-creasing the expectation of what we do is increasing.

“The population balance of the county is changing, the elderly population is growing whereas the school and working age population is falling. This is leading to greater burdens on our caring services while leading to surplus places in schools.”

He said the council had now developed a strategy to deal with the challenges.