Job cuts: 17 per cent reduction in jobs at Ministry for Culture and Heritage

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is the latest public sector to slash jobs, with staff being offered voluntary redundancy.

A 17.6 per cent reduction in jobs was announced today as part of measures to reach the Government’s 6.5 per cent budget savings target.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage chief executive Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae said it had been an unsettling time for staff and the wider public service.

“We’ve known we’ve had to reduce our budget for some time as time-limited funding was coming to an end and we have been able to use attrition and a recruitment freeze to minimise the impact on personnel.

“We will meet government expectations to reduce our headcount and meet savings targets for the next year.”

Changes to the operating model will bring the Ministry’s FTE [full-time equivalent] to 150 in July, which includes some fixed-term roles working on time-limited projects that will end during this coming financial year.

“In comparison with June 2023, we were at 182 FTE. This is a 17.6 per cent reduction, Leauanae said.

“We offered all staff voluntary redundancy and have had 10 voluntary redundancies.

“People in roles that are disestablished will have priority when applying for new positions, to keep as many people in jobs as possible.”

The ministry has established 22 new roles within the new structure, while 35 roles are either disestablished or are fixed-term roles ending – 28 are vacancies.

Yesterday a further 836 public sector jobs were announced to be cut as part of reductions by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and the Department of Conservation (DOC).

Agencies have been tasked with finding 6.5 per cent cost savings for the financial year starting July 1.

Thousands of jobs have either been cut, or placed on the chopping block, following the Government’s directive to save costs and trim the fat in the public sector.