The UK Treasury is preparing to offer voluntary exit packages worth up to £100,000 to reduce its workforce, according to a report by the Financial Times citing people familiar with the matter. The move is part of a long term restructuring plan aimed at cutting hundreds of roles within the finance ministry.
British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is understood to be targeting a reduction of around 300 positions from the Treasury’s current workforce of roughly 2,100 employees by 2030. These planned reductions are aligned with a broader government initiative to lower administrative costs across Whitehall by 16 percent.
The report notes that while the Treasury is prioritising voluntary departures, compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out. If the voluntary exit scheme does not achieve the desired numbers, job cuts could be enforced across several Treasury locations, including London, Darlington, Norwich, and Edinburgh.
In a statement shared with Reuters, a Treasury spokesperson said the department is currently the largest it has ever been and that the present period of stability offers an opportunity to resize responsibly. The voluntary exit scheme, the spokesperson added, is consistent with the government’s wider strategy to streamline operations and return departments to more sustainable staffing levels.
At its core, this decision reflects a balancing act between fiscal discipline and workforce impact. For many public sector employees, it is not just about numbers on a balance sheet but about careers, families, and futures. How this transition is managed will shape not only the Treasury’s efficiency but also public trust in how change is handled within government institutions.
