Wiltshire Council administration workers face a bleak new year with the prospect of being made redundant in a new round of cuts.

The council, which has already shed hundreds of posts, is proposing to cut up to 60 jobs among its 600-strong administration team.

The idea, which will save £1m per year, was first suggested by former chief executive Andrew Kerr, but he took redundancy and the plan has since re-emerged.

Workers such as PAs, secretaries, and those who deal with post, documents, filing, scanning and meeting management, are being issued with ‘at risk’ notices as part of the latest review.

Rosie MacGregor, chairman of the White Horse Wiltshire TUC, said: “It is a worry, not just for the members affected but also for the community as a whole.

“There’s no way the council can carry on delivering all the services it delivers to the same level. Something has got to give and I fear it will be the community of Wiltshire that will lose out.”

In an e-mail to workers, the council’s corporate directors Carlton Brand, Sue Redmond and Carolyn Godfrey, said: “News of the immediate commencement of this review will inevitably be unsettling for staff who may be affected.

“The job roles that will be in scope for this review are those that can be defined as ‘generic’ administrative roles, with responsibilities wholly or predominantly about supporting the activities undertaken by other staff, or supervising such activities.”

Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott has defended the review. She said: “We are doing a complete review of the administration across the board. That means there will be jobs that will go.

“I have not yet seen the results of the review and so I don’t know what the numbers of jobs will be.

“It would be absurd to look at the numbers before you know what the new structure of the council will look like.”

The council says it is estimating 60 of the 600 staff will be made redundant, but will not confirm the number until their review is complete.