JOB cuts planned as part of the merger of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councils are to be made earlier to help meet the costs of the coronavirus pandemic.

BCP Council is hoping to save millions of pounds by shedding hundreds of roles years earlier than had originally been planned.

But opposition councillors have warned the move could be “a major risk”, placing extra demands on its “stretched” workforce.

The council is forecasting it will have a budget gap of more than £13 million next year with the net financial impact of the pandemic now at £15.1 million after government support.

In a bid to cover this, it is now planning to make hundreds of job cuts earmarked as part of the council merger earlier than expected.

Proposals due to be considered at the Wednesday meeting of the council’s cabinet will see work to reduce the council’s headcount now start before the technology investment to improve efficiency as had originally been planned.

Council leader Drew Mellor said this was “entirely consistent” with the policy of the previous administration, although the claim was disputed by members of the Unity Alliance.

“We’re very fortunate to be one of the only authorities that is facing the pandemic while going through a large-scale transformation programme,” Cllr Mellor said. “This means we have got a lot of the workstreams in place that will help us deliver these savings.

“It’s fair to say we are bringing them forward at a much greater pace than we would have done outside of the pandemic but we can do it without adversely affecting capacity.”

But the move prompted concerns from opposition councillors who said it could be a “major risk” at last week’s scrutiny board meeting.

“This is potentially going to be putting a lot of strain on the workforce,” Poole People councillor Mark Howell said. “We are going to be asking people who are already stretched to do even more without the systems in place for them to do that well.

“We are really in danger of damaging the mental and physical health of our employees.”

The original forecasts provided to the council showed the merger work could lead a reduction in its workforce of the equivalent of 622 full-time jobs.

These were expected to be made over four years with most made towards the end of that period, following the adoption of new technology improve staff efficiency.

A decision on whether to approve the new approach will be made at Wednesday’s meeting.